Poverty's been on the rise for all of this decade, and we've yet to see how welfare "reform" works in a real downturn. Until now, the face of the poor has been disproportionately minority and, mostly, ignored. It's been over four decades since
The Other America was published and since poverty was taken seriously as an issue by either party. Now that hunger is moving into previously affluent, white suburbs, perhaps that will change.
I suspect that the party that gets out front of this issue will gain immeasurable longterm support from folks who don't yet know they'll need it themselves. Obviously the GOP is not credible on this issue. Remains to be seen if the Democrats wish to be. Note to Minneapolis non-cognocenti: Eden Prairie and Minnetonka are very wealthy places and yet somehow, foodshelf usage there is absolutely skyrocketing.
Food shelf visits take huge leap in suburbs
David Peterson, Star Tribune
http://www.startribune.com/...
Food shelves in Twin Cities suburbs -- even affluent ones -- are suddenly busier than they've ever been, according to a report to be released this morning.
A state study that is undertaken only twice each decade will reveal a huge jump in visits in places such as Eden Prairie, Minnetonka and Golden Valley, according to Hunger Solutions Minnesota, the organization that coordinates the work of the shelves.
In Eden Prairie, it says, the number of visits for free food soared from slightly more than 1,500 in 2000 to nearly 10,000 last year.
"Hunger is not an issue that just affects homeless people on downtown streets," said Colleen Moriarty, executive director of Hunger Solutions. "They also live next door."
Beneath the numbers, experts say, lie a number of intriguing messages, including a rise in affordable apartments in many suburbs long considered bastions of wealth, and a widening gap between wages, on the one hand, and rents and mortgage payments on the other.
The report comes weeks after one from suburban Dakota County, whose board of commissioners learned last month of a sudden increase in poverty after decades of low and stable rates.
The most notable increases in the food shelf study, however, occurred in Eden Prairie and other cities in neighboring Hennepin County, suggesting a wider suburban phenomenon. By comparison, use of food shelves in Minneapolis, in the same stretch, barely budged...
"What struck us is how few food shelf users are on MFIP," said Laura Schauben, of Wilder Research, co-author of the survey, referring to the public assistance program formerly known as AFDC. "Most are working. But it's turning out that employment doesn't solve everything."
Suburban middle-class families also need help from time to time.
"Lost jobs, divorce, domestic violence -- things happen," Holden said. "It's hard to come here the first time and ask for help. We have people say they used to donate, and can't believe 'I'm sitting here asking for food.' "
The message that all these needs exist, officials say, is especially important in the summer, when suburbanites' donations fade but the need intensifies: Kids, for instance, aren't getting free or reduced lunches at school, so costs rise.
"We've been working hard to increase inventory in a very generous community," Holden said. "But I'm not sure what will be happening by about August."
Stagnating incomes, skyrocketing heating and transportation costs for those living on the outer reaches of urban sprawl, overextended mortgages, healthcare and prescription costs through the roof and now an acceleration of core inflation. The bite has begun in the white suburbs, and the economy hasn't even "slowed down enough" for the Fed's inflation-wary taste.
A perfect storm is brewing; will the Democrats be ready to weather it?