Hunger, Poverty, And Poverty

Who are America’s poor children? How many children in America are poor? What are some of the hardships that face poor children in America? These are only a few questions that we can ask ourselves when considering children who live in poverty in America. Children face monumental hardships in our country because of poverty or the condition of not possessing the means to afford basic human needs. The economic crisis that we find ourselves in today threatens to cause a dramatic increase in the number of America’s poor children; however poverty in America has long been a crisis that has faced the children of our nation. This essay will investigate the previous asked questions and research

Post the economic crisis in America and the recession during the years of 2008 and 2009, the country saw a great increase in poverty and worsening of living conditions of Americans. Currently, almost 50 million of fellow Americans are living in extremely bad conditions under the poverty line which means earning less than $11490 for a single person or $23550 for a family of four people. That’s about 1 in every 6 people in this country are living under poverty. A person living in this country on minimum wage which is $7.25 an hour also cannot pull himself out of poverty even after working 40 hours a week.

In the 2012 documentary Poor Kids, children living in the Quad Cities reflect on their lives in poverty. Each story is different but similar in many ways. At the time of the film, there were sixteen million children reported who were affected by poverty. The film also stated that one in five children were living in poverty. With large quantities of children being affected by poverty, the important to understand how these children are dealing with the factors of poverty.

“The agriculture Department estimated in 1999 that twelve million children were hungry or at risk of going hungry.” She proclaimed. The cause of that could be because parents who can’t afford or find service programs to park their vacationing children in front of the television, lock the door, and go to work hoping for

Hunger and poverty are global issues that American is not an exception to. As of 2012, statistical data provided by the government reported that "46.5 million people were in poverty, including 16.1 million children under the age of 18" and households with children are hit disproportionately with hunger (Feeding America, Hunger). This disproportion results in an equally startling deficit in the quality of education for our children. These alarming statistics attest to the fact that poverty has become an epidemic. Educating all students to ensure they become productive and successful citizens cannot just be a desire, but a need. The required reformation to fix this epidemic requires government and community assistance with teacher involvement.

Homelessness is an epidemic problem that faces many American’s and families across the United States, especially in Detroit. You may see homeless people sleeping in the underpasses of freeways or walking and sitting on street corners or holding up a sign asking for some support for their next meal. We all have seen homeless individuals and thought it was not our problem for their circumstances or maybe had a belief he/she was lying about their situation. Many of us make a choice to give money or buy food, but there are others who make a choice to ignore or overlook the homeless population. Society has placed a stigma and label the homeless population labeling them destitute by choice, but for many homelessness has become a way of life.

Last summer I volunteered at our local Planting Hope event. We distrituted food products from the Maryland Food Bank to people of lower-income in my local town. We also gave shoes and clothes to those who needed them. What I learned after this experience is the realism of poverty and hunger in our country and even my hometown. What may seem to be a prevalent idea for third-world countries far from our homeland, the reality is that poverty and hunger are located closer than we think. Over thirteen percent of Americans are food insecure which seems untrue, but in fact it is a reality that sometimes we ignore. Planting Hope has not only signalled this issue into me, but has allowed me to want to learn more about other issues and rising issues

According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, “nearly one-third of Americans live in urban areas. Although cities offer many social and economic opportunities, children in urban areas are more likely to live in low-income families than are rural or suburban children. Material hardship can have negative, long-term social, emotional, and developmental consequences for children” (National Center for Children in Poverty).

Poverty is a growing health issue for the youth of American. Poor nutrition is harmful for anyone but children have a more vulnerability and can lead to more potential long term consequences. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that 13.1 million children under 18 years old in the US live in households who are consistently unable to access nutritious foods that are necessary for a healthy life (Feeding America, 2016). The top five states in 2014 to rate the highest for food-insure children under 18 were Mississippi, New Mexico, Arizona, Alabama, and Arkansas. Feeding America is a food bank that is leading the fight against hunger in communities nationwide. Their network feeds more than 12 million hungry children nationwide with a variety of programs. Of the 12 million children that are served by the foundation, over 3.5 million are children who are ages 5 and under. Unemployment is a leading factor for poverty and hunger in American.

Poverty is a big problem that still exists in this world. However, it will help the youth to understand where this poverty started, what the causes are and what people could do to stop it. This issue has been the problem since then yet there is still no solution. Also, this issue should address well to everybody because if no one tries to find possible solution, things were getting worse as time goes on. This research paper informs the people what poverty is, to make sure people understands what poverty really is, what is doing to the society and most especially what people could do to stop it. To stop this problem, the youth should unite and make ways as any way the youth can. Many are those who do not know what poverty is but it refers to a condition that people having a means to afford a basic human need such as food and shelter. Also, poverty means being labelled as “poor” (Merriam-Webster 2017). To prove this point, the researcher begins with the definition of poverty. Then, she will explain the reasons of getting involve in the poverty with its branch equality and inequality. Lastly, she will discuss how people can distinguish the effects poverty is telling them.

“The United States ranks near the bottom of the pack of wealthy nations on a measure of child poverty, according to a new report from UNICEF. Nearly one third of U.S. children live in households with an income below 60 percent of the national median income in 2008 - about $31,000 annually. In the richest nation in the world, one in three kids live in poverty.” according to Cristopher Ingraham, a political writer who previously worked at the Brookings Institution and the Pew Research Center. Child poverty is becoming progressively a serious issue in the society, principally when correlating it with being one of—If not—the wealthiest countries in the world. The effect of it is not minimal nor limited to the children in poverty, it is implementing the future education, health, and faith of the country. So by deciphering the problem, the lives saving would be beyond limits. The non-profit organization Children’s Hunger Fund is acting to reduce and hope to eventually eliminate child poverty by offering the combination of physical and spiritual support believing they are essential base to explore knowledge, and without them our bodies and souls are ill, confused and lost.

Children in poverty is a typical social issue occurring in society today. “More than 16 million children in the United States – 22% of all children – live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level” (“National Center For Children In Poverty,” n.d.). The federal poverty level measures the amount of income a family takes in per year. It varies depending on the number of people in a family. For a nuclear family (two parents and two children) the federal poverty level is around twenty-four thousand dollars in a year (“Health Care.gov,” n.d.). The average American makes around forty-six thousand dollars a year. The parents of the children in poverty make at least twenty-two thousand dollars below the average. Their families are extremely poor. Also, not just one child is facing this hardship, sixteen million children are part of families below the federal poverty line, just in America. “About 22% of children in the U.S. lived below the poverty line in 2013, compared with 18% in 2008” (Calfas, 2015). Unfortunately, the rate of poverty affecting children has gone up through the years. More and more children will face poverty during day to day life. Children can be affected by poverty in many ways. “Poverty can impede children’s ability to learn and contribute to social, emotional, and behavioral problems. Poverty also can contribute to poor

Poverty is a problem that the world suffers from, in which case can cause an awareness. There’s people in a current area downtown who are going through poverty. Mark Gongloff states in “ 45 Million Americans Still Stuck Below Poverty Line: Census” “More than 45 million people, or 14.5 percent of all Americans, lived below the poverty…..But the level of poverty is still higher than 12.3 percent in 2006” (2014). There’s so many people, such as children suffer from poverty. Haiti suffers 37% more in poverty than most of countries.

Poverty is a considerable social problem; with a significant impact on those who suffer within. Growing up in poverty “reduces a child’s chance of growing up to be a healthy, well-adjusted, and contributing adult in our society” (Crosson-Tower, 2014, p. 59). Poverty is families having to struggle to afford necessities. Poverty does not know where your next meal is coming from or having to choose between paying rent and seeing a health care provider. The impact of poverty affects one’s ability through physical, social, emotional, and educational health. Even though individual overcome poverty it still extends across cultural, racial, ethnic, and geographical borders. Children represent the largest group of poverty in the United States. “Growing up in poverty places a child at a profound disadvantage and substantially lowers the chances that the child will mature into a well-adjusted, productive, and contributing

Poor people lack many of the same options easily afforded by wealthier individuals. When the traits of commonly vulnerable groups overlap, the likelihood vulnerability and a lack of wealth increase. People who are poor are more likely to also have less education, be elderly, and be women (Gentile 595). A poor individual can’t move to a safer neighborhood or can’t always buy healthy, organic food. Because the contaminated areas are empty, and coincidentally very suitable for agriculture, very poor families and people moved into the abandoned houses, growing their own or buying the cheaper locally grown -- and potentially very radioactive -- food. In some places, people moved into areas where the levels of radiation were low, only to find