Rising Costs of Public Services Forcing People to the Edges

A warehouse worker at Harvesters was loading items for a semi-truckload delivery of food to Wetmore, Kansas, where 150 people are expected in this rural community west of Atchison, which initiated a conversation about rural poverty and hunger.

Wetmore is located in Nemaha County, where per capita income is 10% less than the state average but poverty level is slightly better than state poverty. Hunger in the county as indicated by the 2012 Kansas Atlas shows less food insecurity than the state average.

Why would the town's people need emergency food assistance?

Income levels have dropped in the county since the recession, the nearest food pantry is 14 miles away in Holton, and more people in rural areas receive SNAP benefits compared to poor people in urban areas but the benefits only support so much of a family's needs. Gas prices in Kansas have doubled in 5 years, but the increases in health insurance and higher education may be the two most important factors in why rural residents are seeking emergency food assistance.

Health insurance costs continue to rise faster than inflation and increases in higher public education costs are making the getting a degree more difficult to obtain, whichs puts more pressure on rural residents to maintain a stable quality of life.

Making health insurance and public education more affordable for poor people and middle income will reduce poverty and improve the quality of life in both rural and urban areas.

Chart from Commonwealth Fund



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