by Andrea Vogt

One grandmother knows how to make two hotdogs feed seven. A recovering addict knows Jack in the Box has the cheapest grub when his night shift ends at 4 a.m. An 11-year-old girl learned to use a neighbor’s phone if mama doesn’t come home at night.

This is knowledge from the school of hard knocks—life in poverty—where at least 180,000 Idahoans are unwillingly enrolled.       

Fortunately there’s another school in town—the University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS)—bringing an array of anti-poverty             programs to the doorsteps of the needy across the state.

For more than 30 years, UI Extension has provided food and nutrition education to low-income residents and food stamp recipients, partnering with government agencies, churches, and non-profit organizations. Today UI Extension’s poverty-fighting role has expanded to Idaho’s farm fields, churches, prisons, drug courts, and town community centers. Programs now include community building and life-skills training in areas such as childcare, community cohesion, agricultural practices for Spanish speakers, and budgeting.

Idaho: 8th most food-insecure state in the nation

Since the 1970s, Idaho’s poverty rate has slowly declined thanks to the state’s recent robust economic expansion. It is now 12.6 percent, just below the 13.3 percent national average. But tucked inside these encouraging numbers is a harsh reality not accurately reflected in federal statistics—that Idaho’s rural residents and so-called “working poor or near poor” are struggling more than ever. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, which tracks hunger through its free/reduced lunch and food stamps  programs, Idaho has the 8th highest percentage (14.6%) in the nation of households that are food-insecure. The recent report averaged several years’ figures.

The state’s vast geography presents a challenge. Most rural Idahoans (87 percent) live in counties with poverty rates greater than the state average. And thousands live just above the federal poverty line. They hold jobs and are not officially destitute, yet are not comfortably middle class.

Half of Idahoans surveyed in 2007 by the Northwest Area Foundation say a family of four needs at least $40,000 yearly for a basic standard of living—yet approximately 50 percent of Idaho’s children live in families making less than that. For this large pool of workers making $20,000 to $40,000 for a family of four, everyday occurrences like car trouble, a trip to ER, or divorce, can push them over poverty’s cliff.

Not included in poverty statistics, this segment of the population cycles quietly in and out of poverty—making too much for public assistance but not enough to cover basics like healthcare or decent housing.

“Average income is low in Idaho and lots of middle class families are struggling,” says Marilyn Cross Bischoff, a UI Extension family economics specialist in Boise. “They’re not considered poor, but if they have multiple children, they have a hard time making it.” Deterrents are built into the system. If someone getting  government assistance makes slightly more, they may lose eligibility, yet still not earn enough to make ends meet.              

A person would have to work 68 hours a week at minimum wage ($5.85/hr) just to reach the $20,444 poverty threshold for a family of four. According to 2004 figures, almost 10 percent of Idaho workers hold two or more jobs, significantly above the 5.4 percent national average. 

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