skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Hunger Up in WA – Will State Cut Food Programs?

play audio
Play

Friday, November 28, 2008   

Spokane, WA – Whether you call it hunger or "food insecurity," it's a trend on the rise. An estimated 225,000 households in Washington have experienced uncertainty about getting their next meal, and 300,000 children live in those families.

The figures are from 2007, before the economic downturn, and they've been released just as Governor Gregoire has ordered more budget belt-tightening. Linda Stone, Eastern Washington director for The Children's Alliance, is concerned that state budget cuts will affect the poor disproportionately, and that private donations won't be enough to fill the growing food gap.

"The thing about most food and nutrition programs is that they're public and private partnerships. You take a little bit of state money; you have federal funds coming in; and you also have the public sector donations coming in. You mix that together and establish a safety net, and so, we need to keep all the players involved."

Stone notes that food programs also help local economies because the money is spent at grocery stores and farmers markets. Some of the most troubling new statistics, she adds, concern hunger among non-white families.

"A particularly disturbing factor is that Latino households have a 27 percent rate of food insecurity, and non-Hispanic whites have a 7 percent. So, we're looking at a real disparity here, based on race, in the state of Washington."

For African-Americans, the food insecurity rate is 17 percent. Stone says single-parent households headed by women have it even worse, at just over 30 percent. Washington's rural counties also are hard hit, through a combination of farm workers' low wages and downturns in such industries as fishing and logging. For all of those reasons, children's advocates have asked the governor to exempt nutrition programs from the current budget reductions.

The figures were compiled by the Washington Department of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and summarized in the report, "Hungry in Washington 2008." See it online at www.childrensalliance.org



get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …


A 2022 report finds failing to speed up transmission beyond the current pace will increase 2030 U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions by 800 million tons per year. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021