A summer of rising hunger in Oregon, By David Sarasohn, August 09, 2009, The Oregonian: “This time last year, John Schrader had been working in a lumber mill for six years and was training to become a millwright. This year, the job is gone, he’s studying metal fabrication and welding in community college, and he’s sitting in the gym at Henry Hill Elementary School as his three sons munch through hamburgers, orange sections and carrot sticks. It’s part of the federal summer food program, aimed at kids who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch during the year, kids who might otherwise face a long hungry summer. In this summer of our discontent, business is booming — at least at the sites still operating, the ones not closed by financial pressures on schools or local organizations…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty