Table of Contents- Overview: Poverty - Food Insecurity - Local Agencies - Unemployment - Podcasts - References |
Overview
Poverty is defined by the Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation as not having enough money to meet the basic needs for survival, including food, clothing, and shelter.[1] People who struggle with this issue experience extreme stress every day trying to provide for themselves or their families.[2] According to an article from GNB Canada, “The World Bank Organization describes poverty in this way: “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, it is fear for the future, living one day at a time.”[3]
According to the most recent data from the United States Census Bureau, "the official poverty rate in 2022 was 11.5%, with 37.9 million people in poverty.”[4]McLean County's poverty rate is 11.2%, which is about 19,086 out of its 170,441 residents; furthermore, 6.2% of these residents are under the age of 65 and have no health insurance. [5] People struggle with poverty for various reasons, such as income inequality, inflation, unemployment, and debt traps. [6], [7], [8], [9] There are also several reasons [10]that people struggle with escaping poverty, which include lack of steady income, poor education, poor healthcare, and inadequate infrastructure. Those who are in poverty not only struggle with meeting basic survival needs but also have difficulties obtaining reliable transportation, paying for medications, and providing for themselves and their families with fun activities and proper quality of life. Those who can barely afford to cover food and rent can't consider additional expenses, resulting in a challenging and worrisome life to live. [11]
Food Insecurity
Food insecurity is a major issue caused by poverty.[12] “The USDA defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable foods that promote optimal health and well-being.” The Food Action and Resource Center states that in the United States, one in eight households- 12.8%- experience food insecurity.[13] This is an estimated 44.2 million Americans. It’s also said that one in twenty households- 5.1%- experienced food insecurity to a degree where households had to regularly skip meals or reduce food intake.Feeding America shows that in 2021, 14,520 McLean County residents experienced food insecurity- a rate of 8.5% of the county population.[14] Many health complications can arise from nutritional imbalances, whether that is receiving too little or too much of a specific nutrient. Some examples of these health complications include obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. [15]Food insecurity also can significantly impact well-being and development in children.[16]
The inability to afford or access healthy and nutritious food can cause serious consequences to one's health . In 2022, Carle Broman Medical Center published its 2022 McLean County Community Health Needs Assessment Summary Report.[17] This report showed that the top three issues affecting McLean County residents are access to care, behavioral health, and healthy eating/active nutrition. They also found that McLean County is in the worst (25th) percentile compared to other Illinois counties for access to a grocery store. An article published by The Pantagraph further details the lack of grocery stores in specific low-income areas.[18] In this article, a map portrayed all the grocery stores in Bloomington-Normal. From this map, it was concluded that some residents, specifically those on the west side of Bloomington, live "at least two miles from a grocery store, which can be a huge obstacle if you do not have reliable transportation." Research has shown that not having reliable transportation and access to a grocery store is not just a local problem but a national problem. The USDA Economic Reserve provides data from the 2000 census that shows that "23.5 million people, or 8.4% of the US population, live in low-income neighborhoods that are more than one mile from a supermarket."[19] The lack of transportation coupled with the high prices and inflation of supermarket goods presents people experiencing poverty and food insecurity with huge obstacles in regards to obtaining healthy food.
Local Agencies
Food banks and pantries are agencies devoted to fighting poverty and food insecurity. “Food banks are distribution facilities that warehouse, repackage and distribute contributed food to member organizations and charities.”[20] Food pantries "are distribution centers where families can receive food."[21]
The following organizations are food banks or pantries located in McLean County:
- Midwest Food Bank. is a nonprofit organization that works to “alleviate hunger and malnutrition locally and throughout the world.” [22] Midwest Food Bank utilizes donations to distribute food to 2,200 nonprofit organizations every month, totalling up to approximately $34 million dollars worth of food. They have a location in Bloomington-Normal, where they provide food for 461 local nonprofit schools and food pantries.[23] These local organizations then distribute to 132,000 neighbors in the central/south Illinois area.
- St. Vincent de Paul is a nonprofit food and clothing pantry located in Bloomington Illinois.[24] Their food pantry "provides a wide selection of meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy, bread, pastries, and canned goods ." Their clothing pantry also provides the public with an "abundant selection of multi-season clothes for men, women, young adults, and children year-round."
- Home Sweet Home Ministries is another nonprofit organization that serves the community by providing "services to the homeless such as shelter, hot meals, access to clothing and toiletries, and job training."[25] Their 2022 Annual Impact shows that they have served 33,480 meals and 4,603 sack lunches, and provided 15,496 nights of shelter for those in need.[26]
- Salvation Army is another well-known food pantry that helps provide food to those in need here in Bloomington every Monday and Wednesday.[27]
- Many parishes and churches in town have their own food pantries to provide food for those in need; for example, the Apostolic Pentecostal Church , Eastview Christian Church, and the House of Prayer.[28],[29],[30]
These are just a few of the organizations established in McLean County to help fight food insecurity. A larger list of the all the food pantries can be found at this link.[31]
This picture from The Catholic Post Newspaper shows volunteers and clients gathered in St. Vincent de Paul food pantry on its first day open (April 1st, 2019).[32]
Unemployment
What is unemployment? Well it is defined as a person in the state of being without work, yet looking for work, or a job.
Biggest reason why unemployment is bad, is because there are no offsetting gains to the costs that everyone must bear. Unemployment can be disastrous to the economy of society. The cost of unemployment to a individual point of view is not too hard to imagine. If someone loses their job, their standard of living is greatly impacted to the point where they might have to start making ends meet, and going off a very tight budget until they find a new one. Unemployment also affects the disposable income of families, breaks down the purchasing power, and reduces the economies output. It also effects how people work. Employee morale get diminished through unemployment as well. There are many more to name, but those are the biggest factors of unemployment
Here is some recent history of unemployment through the Trump administration, into the Biden administration.
Throughout Trump’s presidency, he ran the country like a business. He put the nation’s economy at an all time high, and put the unemployment to an all time low on employed to population ratio. Everyone started to love Trump for what he was doing for the country. Most people even said something similar to, “I thought Trump was just gonna be an angry hothead, an incompetent person running our country.” He promised equal pay if you do as good of a job, and equality in contenders for a new job. Trump was reigning high on the nation’s economy, and the employment rate in the country. Trump had regulations of businesses having job conventions in prisons, where the managers will be asking some of these inmates if they want a job when they’re released. Some inmates weren’t asked, but a lot were. He gave everybody hope in America. But in December of 2019, China had an accidental product hidden in their biggest seafood market (Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market) which started giving people shortness of breath, and fevers. They made a virus that was leaked through (theories state) the Chinese science research labs, which caused a massive outbreak in their country, soon becoming a worldwide pandemic, the Coronavirus. It caused many businesses to either shut down, or schedule less hours for every employee they have. The unemployment rate skyrocketed to an all time high during the pandemic. It caused homelessness to skyrocket, poverty rate to skyrocket, and many jobs to become stay at home jobs, the lucky ones who did not lose their jobs. Only jobs considered an “essential job” could stay open during the pandemic, because they are considered to be the businesses everyone needs on a daily basis in order to live. Examples are: Car Mechanic Shops, Grocery Stores, Some restaurants, any home appliance/assistance business, and any type of insurance business. This all happened within a month (March of 2020) in the U.S.A., which this was only promised to be a two-week lockdown, which turned into a 5 month lockdown before stuff (Very Slowly) opened back up.
Lastly, the history of when unemployment started to become a problem in America.
Unemployment has shown to be a problem in America, with The Great Depression to start off the controversy to become a major problem. Then, unemployment has never gotten a full recovery ever since. Many unemployment spikes have risen and then calmed down, then risen again. One event we all call 9/11 heavily affected the unemployment rate as many workers who got out of the twin towers in time had no job for a short amount of time. But after a month, the unemployment rate was back to normal due to many hotel jobs, and airport jobs were taken. The unemployment rate hasn’t been a huge problem, but has been a concern for a long time, and one event, to start off the Obama administration happened, that changed the way unemployment was looked at, The Great Recession. Ever since The Great Recession, the unemployment rate of America has been very unstable.
Podcasts
Keslee Podcast: https://media.rss.com/foodinsecurity/feed.xml
Joshua Podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/joshua-employment-crisis/1254865/
Nora Podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nbrady
References
Overview:
1. What is poverty? (2009). Brunswick Canada. Retrieved 4 December 2023 fromhttps://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/esic/overview/content/what_is_poverty.html.
2. Graham, C. (2015, February 19). The high costs of being poor in America: Stress, pain, and worry. Brookings. Retrieved 4 December 2023 fromhttps://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-high-costs-of-being-poor-in-america-stress-pain-and-worry/.
3. What is poverty? (2009). Brunswick Canada. Retrieved 4 December 2023 fromhttps://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/esic/overview/content/what_is_poverty.html.
4. Shrider, E. (2023, September 12). Poverty in the United States: 2022. United States Census. Retrieved 4 December 2023 fromhttps://www.census.gov/library/publications/2023/demo/p60-280.html#:~:text=Highlights-,Official%20Poverty%20Measure,and%20Table%20A%2D1).
5. QuickFacts McLean County, Illinois. (No Date). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 4 April 2024 from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/mcleancountyillinois.
6. Income Inequality in the United States. (2023). Inequality. Retrieved 2 December 2023 fromhttps://inequality.org/facts/income-inequality/#:~:text=Income%20inequality%20refers%20to%20the,uneven%20manner%20among%20a%20population.
7. Oner, C. (no date). Inflation: Prices on the rise. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 29 November 2023 fromhttps://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/Series/Back-to-Basics/Inflation#:~:text=Inflation%20measures%20how%20much%20more,into%20long%20periods%20of%20instability.
8. Hayes, A. (2023, August 9). What is Unemployment? Understanding Causes, Types, Measurement. Investopedia. Retrieved 3 December 2023 fromhttps://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/unemployment.asp#:~:text=The%20term%20unemployment%20refers%20to,unemployment%20is%20the%20unemployment%20rate.
9. Kolhatkar, S. (2023, June 4). What Is A Debt Trap? Reasons Behind Debt Trap And How To Get Out Of It. BQ Prime. Retrieved 4 December 2023 fromhttps://www.bqprime.com/personal-finance/what-is-a-debt-trap-reasons-behind-debt-trap-and-how-to-get-out-of-it-bqc#:~:text=A%20debt%20trap%20refers%20to,never%2Dending%20cycle%20of%20debt.
10. Chen, J. (2023, September 25). Poverty Trap: Definition, Causes, and Proposed Solutions. Investopedia. Retrieved 4 April 2024 from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/poverty-trap.asp#:~:text=There%20are%20several%20factors%20that,education%2C%20infrastructure%2C%20and%20healthcare.
11. What is poverty? (2009). Brunswick Canada. Retrieved 4 December 2023 fromhttps://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/esic/overview/content/what_is_poverty.html.
Food Insecurity:
12. What is food insecurity? Food Security? (2023, November 6). Food Forward. Retrieved 4 April 2024 from https://foodforward.org/food-security/what-is-food-insecurity/.
13. Hunger & Poverty in America. (No Date). Food Research & Action Center. Retrieved 4 December 2023 fromhttps://frac.org/hunger-poverty-america.
14. Food Insecurity among Overall (all ages) Population in McLean County. (2023) Feeding America. Retrieved 10 October 2023 from https://map.feedingamerica.org/county/2021/overall/illinois/county/mclean.
15. Importance of Nutrition on Health in America. (No Date). Feeding America. Retrieved 4 April 2024 from https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hunger/hunger-and-nutrition#:~:text=Food%20insecurity%20can%20lead%20to,%2C%20heart%20disease%2C%20and%20obesity.
16. Hunger in America: Hunger and Child Development. (2023). Feeding America. Retrieved 6 December 2023 fromhttps://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of hunger#:~:text=Research%20shows%20an%20association%20between,aggression%20in%20school%2Dage%20children.
17. 2022 McLean County Community Health Needs Assessment Summary Report. (No Date). Carle Broman Medical Center. Retrieved 2 February 2024 from https://cfh-cdn-test.azureedge.net/cms/carle/media/pdf/about/chna/2022-infographic-summary-mclean-county.pdf.
18. Alkire, J. (2022, July 23). Enough to Eat? How food insecurity affects thousands in Bloomington-Normal. Retrieved 2 February 2024 from https://pantagraph.com/news/local/enough-to-eat-how-food-insecurity-affects-thousands-in-bloomington-normal/article_f6c35014-0a06-11ed-89a1-bf6d32b55399.html.
19. Ploeg, M. (2010, March 1). Access to Affordable, Nutritious Food is Limited in “Food Desserts”. USDA Economic Research Reserve. Retrieved 20 February 2024 from https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2010/march/access-to-affordable-nutritious-food-is-limited-in-food-deserts/.
Local Agencies:
20. Elliott, S. (2010, November 2). How Food Banks Work. HowStuffWorks. Retrieved 4 April 2024 from https://money.howstuffworks.com/economics/volunteer/organizations/food-bank.htm.
21. Waite, T. (2019, February 20). What is the difference between a food bank and a food pantry? Feeding America. Retrieved 2 May 2024 from https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-blog/what-difference-between-food-bank-and-food-pantry.
22. Missions and Methods. (No Date). Midwest Food Bank. Retrieved 10 October 2023 fromhttps://www.midwestfoodbank.org/about-main/mission-methods.
23. Midwest Food Bank of Illinois-Bloomington-Normal. (No Date). Midwest Food Bank. Retrieved from https://www.midwestfoodbank.org/locations/bloomington-il.
24. St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry. (No Date). St. Vincent DePaul. Retrieved 22 February 2024 from https://svdp-htpantry.org/food-pantry/.
25. Food Services. (No Date). Home Sweet Home Ministries. Retrieved 22 February 2024 from https://hshministries.org/.
26. 2022 Annual Report. (No Date). Home Sweet Home Ministries. Retrieved 22 February 2024 fromhttps://hshministries.org/.
27. We fight poverty with love. (No Date). The Salvation Army. Retrieved 22 February 2024 from https://centralusa.salvationarmy.org/bloomington/overcome-poverty/.
28. Apostolic Pentecostal Church Food Pantry. (2023, June 22). Homeless Shelters Directory. Retrieved 22 February 2024 from https://www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/shelter/il_apc-food-pantry.
29. Food Pantry. (No Date). Eastview Christian Church. Retrieved 22 February 2024 from https://myrock.eastview.church/page/657?EventoccurrenceId=837.
30. Do you need food? (No Date). House of Prayer. Retrieved 22 February 2024 from http://www.hoplutheran.org/House_of_Prayer/Food.html.
31. McLean County Food Pantries. (No Date). McLean County Il.gov. Retrieved 4 April 2024 from https://www.mcleancountyil.gov/DocumentCenter/View/12989/PATH-and-Midwest-Food-Pantry?bidId=.
32. Dermody, T. St. Vincent DePaul Food and Clothing Pantry Re-opens at New Bloomington Site. (2019, April 2). The Catholic Post. Retrieved 24 February, 2024 from https://thecatholicpost.com/2019/04/02/st-vincent-de-paul-food-and-clothing-pantry-re-opens-at-new-bloomington-site/.
Unemployment:
(2003, Sept. 10th). Extended mass layoffs and the 9/11 attacks : The Economics Daily : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved November 30th, 2023 from https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2003/sept/wk2/art03.htm
CDC Researchers. (2023, March 15th). CDC Museum COVID-19 Timeline. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Retrieved December 6th, 2023 from https://www.cdc.gov/museum/timeline/covid19.html#:~:text=The%20World%20Health%20Organization%20(WHO,the%20Huanan%20Seafood%20Wholesale%20Market.
CITIES 92.9 https://www.cities929.com
Hayes A. (2023, Aug. 9th). What is Unemployment? Understanding Causes, Types, Measurements. Investopedia. Retrieved November 30th, 2023, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/unemployment.asp
Kimberly A. (2022, April 5th). The Great Depression: What Happened, What Caused It, and How It Ended. The Balance. Retrieved November 30th 2023, from https://www.thebalancemoney.com/the-great-depression-of-1929-3306033
Picardo E. (2023, Aug. 21st). How the Unemployment Rate Affects Everybody. Investopedia. Retrieved December 4th, 2023 from https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/10/unemployment-rate-get-real.asp#:~:text=The%20unemployment%20rate%20is%20the,and%20reduces%20an%20economy%27s%20output.
Schlenker, C. (2022, March 17th). Bloomington-Normal workforce returns to pre-pandemic levels. WGLT. Retrieved October 9th, 2023, from https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2022-03-17/bloomington-normal-workforce-returns-to-pre-pandemic-levels
Simpson S. (2022, April 14th). The Cost of Unemployment to the Economy. Investopedia. Retrieved December 4th, 2023, from https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0811/the-cost-of-unemployment-to-the-economy.aspx
Stock, E. (2023, June 23rd). Bloomington-Normal unemployment holds at 3.5%. WGLT. Retrieved October 9th, 2023, from https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2023-06-23/bloomington-normal-unemployment-holds-at-3-5
Stock, E., & Schlenker, C. (2023, July 27th). Unemployment rates rise in Bloomington-Normal and across much of Illinois. WGLT. Retrieved October 9th, 2023, from https://www.wglt.org/local-news/2023-07-27/unemployment-rates-rise-in-bloomington-normal-and-across-much-of-illinois
