Childhood Hunger in Marion and Polk counties
Many families in our community are dealing with the challenges of making ends meet on limited incomes—they are being forced to make the unfortunate and tough choices between food, medicine, rent and gas money. We know how dramatic the need really is, and its impact on children.
Children who live in food insecure households are at risk in many ways, creating problems that are dramatic in their immediate consequences and tragic in their long-term effects. They are more likely to be in poorer health and to experience considerable psychological and emotional distress. Under-nutrition, even mild to moderate malnutrition, is a developmental risk factor. Children from food insecure households do not perform as well on academic achievement tests and have higher rates of school absence. They are less likely to form friendships, to be curious, to learn. Childhood hunger can produce impairments remaining throughout life. The costs to our communities are great in lost productivity and in increased social services over their lifetimes.
According to 2008 data from Children First for Oregon, 20% of children in Marion County are in poverty (16,446 children), and 13% of children in Polk County are in poverty (2,134).
According to Marion-Polk Food Share statistics for the Salem area, 44% of those eating from a food box are children. Statewide, 49% of households receiving emergency food assistance include children.
In Marion County, 58.6% of all school-age children participate in the free or reduced-price lunch program. This translates to a total of 34,337 children; with 83% receiving a free lunch, and 17% receiving a reduced-price lunch. To receive a free lunch, you must be at 130% of poverty (or less), which means earning $28,668 per year or less for a family of four. To receive a reduced-price lunch, you must be at 185% of poverty (or less), which means earning $40,792 per year or less for a family of four.
A total of 28,489 children in Marion County received a free lunch which means that 49% of the area’s children enrolled in school are living close to or below the Federal poverty line.
In Polk County, 45.6% of all school-age children qualify for the free or reduced-price lunch program. This translates to a total of 3,085 children; with 82% receiving a free lunch and 18% receiving a reduced-price lunch. A total of 37% of Polk County children enrolled in school are living close to or below the Federal poverty line.
In eight Salem-Keizer schools, over 80% of the children are receiving a free or reduced-price lunch.
Up the Santiam Canyon, 57.5% of children are participating in the free or reduced-price lunch program, for a total of 345 children in need of food assistance. In Falls City, 118 of the 165 children (71.5%) in the school system are receiving a free or reduced-price lunch. In Woodburn, 85% of students (4,448) are participating in the free or reduced-price lunch program.
Since 1993, Marion-Polk Food Share has operated a Spring Break lunch program called No Hungry Child. This year we served 6,426 meals at a total of 36 sites in the two-county area. In 2009, we operated a summer lunch program for our second year in order to reach children in need during the long summer months. We provided a total of 4,162 summer lunches to children in Silverton, Scotts Mills, Aumsville, and Jefferson. We know that there is still an unmet need for meals during the Winter Break and will explore this expansion in 2009. We continue to work with the community to determine how we can better meet the nutritional needs of children who live in homes with very limited incomes.
The 2009 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia
Persons in family Poverty guideline
1 $10,830
2 14,570
3 18,310
4 22,050
5 25,790
6 29,530
7 33,270
8 37,010
For families with more than 8 persons, add $3,740 for each additional person.