Growing poverty causes childhood hunger | News

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WZZM) --Frightening new numbers out show the number of Americans living in extreme poverty has reached a new record. The US Census Bureau reports 20.5 million people, that's one in 15, have fallen below 50% of the official US poverty level. That represents an annual income of about $11,000 year for a family of four.

"That is an enormous number. In West Michigan 1 in 4 children faces hunger every single day. These are huge poverty numbers," said Bridget Clark Whitney, executive director for Kids' Food Basket.

The agency provides balanced meals to some of the areas most vulnerable children at 32 local elementary schools.

Friday, employees picked up the keys to a brand new Toyota Tundra the agency won in the Toyota 100 Cars For Good contest. Clark Whitney says the truck will replace one recently lost in an accident and will save them about $30,000. That's enough money to feed an entire school. She says that is really important right now considering the demand for services has never been greater.

"The bottom line is our number continue to go up. The need continues to go up and we really needed this vehicle," she said. "We are serving, right now, 4,330 children each weekday throughout the school year and throughout the summer. Those numbers are huge. If you could imagine the quantities for a very nutritious sack dinner with five food groups. lots of fruits and vegetables .as much local food as we can possibly get, those quantities are huge and we need these vehicles to be able to transport food back and forth from Feeding America, other food banks, local growers and local vendors."

She says they routinely have about 10 or 11 schools on their waiting list. At one point, that number has jumped up at one point to having 27 schools on the waiting list.

"Each one of these elementary schools we serve has well over 80 percent of their students living at or below poverty level," she said. "We know that in Kent County, 37,000 kids are living below poverty level in 'food-insure' households, which is a home which simply doesn't have enough food."

"They are eating breakfast at school because there may not be food to eat at breakfast. They are eating what is served at school for the lunch program, and then to be a child, and think, 'I might go home and there is not enough food to eat', what child needs to worry about that? That is a hard thing on a kid," said Catrina Harvey, program coordinator for the agency.

Harvey says when she goes into the schools, she is reminded of how important is that work they do.

"Nobody wants to see a child hungry. I don't care if it is your own. I don't care if it is your neighbors. Nobody wants to see a child hungry, because it is heartbreaking and this is our community and it is on Grand Rapids to take care of our Kent County community," she said.

Harvey says she has the privilege of working with Kids' Food Basket now, but just a short while ago she could have very well been on the receiving end.

"Honestly, as a parent of six kids and I'm a widow, I know what it is like to lose an income in my household and my kids know what it is like to be hungry," she said. "I have walked that walk, so I understand from a parent's perspective and my kids understand from a kid's perspective. It is hard. It is difficult to think about not having food, and on top of that, you have to learn and everything. That's hard. As a parent, it is hard because you have to decide, 'do I pay bills or do I feed my children? Do I pay rent or get my car fixed or do I feed my children?'"

And she says it could happen to anyone at any time.

"It could take a loss of a parent. It could take a job loss. It could be anything that changes your circumstance and ultimately this could be you," said Harvey.

She says it is a situation no parent or child should have to endure.