Foundation Journal

An NPR news report on the impact on Kansas hospitals because of failed efforts to expand Medicaid aired this week. The report shares how "Governor Sam Brownback and Republican legislative leaders have shown no interest in expanding Medicaid," while documenting the loss of federal funds and hospitals' case to press Kansas legislators to pick up the Obamacare subsidies. Missing from the report is an update on the impact on the lives of people eligible for health services in Kansas.

I attended the regular meeting of the Kansas City-based Homelessness Task Force organization at the downtown public library in Kansas City, Missouri today. I arrived at the meeting a few minutes early and joined the 20 or so people waiting to enter the library when it opened at 9:00 am. Most people waiting -- older men and 20-somethings -- would fit a description of a homeless individual using the library to come in from the cold, damp morning. As I learned later none of these individuals attended the meeting of the organization responsible for overseeing solutions to their problem. In fact, a few task force representatives left the waiting crowd to enter the library through another entrance. The crowd included weather-beaten men without teeth, a young man listening to music on his phone with a tooth brush hanging out of his pocket, two 30-something men conversing about backpacks and KC life -- "this was one of the baddest banks" in its time, announced one of them, referrin...

Time and time again supporters of food assistance programs emphasize the contradiction between growing hunger in the US and vast financial wealth and food resources. Civic, government, and business leaders made comments about this disparity at the official opening of a large Harvesters food bank warehouse today in Topeka serving sixteen counties in eastern Kansas. “Here, in the breadbasket of the most affluent country in the world, we have a substantial number of people who are food insecure,” Kansas First Lady Stacy Parkinson said . “That is just unacceptable.” Civic leaders cut ribbon recognizing the official opening of Harvesters' second food warehouse in Topeka. Douglas Kinsinger with the Topeka Chamber of Commerce asked "What else can we do" to solve this problem but to support food banks and feeding programs. There's no shortage of ideas and action at a local level. One common approach to hunger relief is providing resources for neighbors in nee...