In August, 2013, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported the following:
Missouri is No. 1 in the nation in hunger. . . . nearly 1 in 6 Missourians, or 16.7 percent of them, are food insecure.
The Warrensburg Daily Star Journal, a five day week paper, had a story on Friday titled titled "Community feeds neighbors." Warrensburg is about 60 miles east of Kansas City. One of the pictures in the article shows people in front of a Lutheran Church the Saturday before Christmas to get items for a Christmas meal.
As we all know the stock market is setting new records. One of the organizer's of the event said this year they helped 582 families. Last year they helped 398. Somehow things are trickling down.
Warrensburg is represented by Vicky Hartley, who has received over a half a million in farm subsidies, and is optimistic about a new farm bill.
I am pleased to share that even though Congress was not in session, negotiators from the House and Senate Agriculture Committees were at work hammering out the final details of what I hope will be a comprehensive five-year Farm Bill. . . . As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, I am committed to serving the interests of both consumers and farmers – approving a Farm Bill that provides the United States with a safe, plentiful, and affordable supply of food for many years to come.
No mention of SNAP.
Long term unemployment benefits are ending. I wonder how many of those 600 families are trying to survive on unemployment benefits. Missouri, controlled by a super majority of Republicans in both houses, is not participating in expansion of Medicaid.
Here are some demographic information about Warrensburg from the 2010 census are reported in Wikipedia.
As of the census of 2010, there were 18,838 people, 6,803 households, and 3,400 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,128.6 inhabitants per square mile (821.9 /km2). There were 7,450 housing units at an average density of 841.8 per square mile (325.0 /km2). The racial makeup of the city was 85.3% White, 7.5% African American, 0.5% Native American, 2.8% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 0.7% from other races, and 3.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.1% of the population.
Here are the income levels.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,332, and the median income for a family was $45,845. Males had a median income of $30,354 versus $22,154 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,714. About 13.6% of families and 24.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.
Warrensburg is actually better off than counties around it. It is the home of Whiteman Air Force Base and a regional university, the University of Central Missouri.
Poverty does not just exist in the inner city.