poorest

The fastest rate of inflation in 40 years is hurting families across the U.S. who are seeing ever-higher prices for everything from meat and potatoes to housing and gasoline. But behind the headline number that’s been widely reported is something that often gets overlooked: Inflation affects different households in different ways – and sometimes hurts those with the least, the most. Inflation, as calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is designed to track the price increases in a typical U.S. household’s basket of goods. The problem is spending bundles differ across households. For example, a family in the lowest 20% of income typically spends around 15% of their budget on groceries – this is nearly 60% more than households in the top 20% of the income distribution, according to m...

Schools aren’t only places where kids learn. They are also places where kids eat. Thanks to the National School Lunch Program, 30 million U.S. children – some 60% of all school-aged kids – regularly eat some combination of breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks at school. Federal subsidies ensure that school meals are affordable for all children to stave off hunger and malnutrition. But what is happening to meals provided by the nation’s largest child nutrition program as public schools shut their doors to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic? Based on my research on how schools provide meals for poor children, I worry that these closures might leave some of the nation’s poorest children without access to nutritious meals. School meals address hunger Despite persistent concer...

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Poorest Americans Are Hit Hardest By Inflation Inequality And Soaring Prices On Necessities

America’s poorest children won’t get nutritious meals with school cafeterias closed due to the coronavirus