previous: Student involvement in anti-poverty programs

More about poverty, hunger in Idaho

POVERTY DEFINITION

pov.er.ty n, to do without financial, emotional, mental, spiritual, or physical resources; also, to lack knowledge of hidden class rules, support systems, and coping strategies.

Defining poverty--like ending it--is not simple. The federal government devotes pages to defining poverty in America. Our cover's definition is adapted from A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Dr. Ruby Payne, Ph.D., 1996. It is used in University of Idaho Extension's new Horizons programs.

POVERTY BY COUNTY
Idaho counties with the highest percentage of poverty. Most are rural, or have large rural areas in them.

Shoshone      16.3%

Madison         15.6%

Owyhee          15.4%

Clark                15.1%

Cassia             14.7%

However, urban counties have the highest numbers of people living in poverty.

Ada            30,644      9.1%

Canyon      21,419    13.2%

Kootenai    12,289      9.7%

Bonneville 10,390    11.4%

Bannock       9,950    13%

FOOD STAMPS
Under the USDA’s food stamp program, a family of four is eligible if its gross income is 130% of the poverty level, or $26,856 per year. Only 58% of eligible Idahoans receive the federal assistance.

*Source: USDA 2007 figures

HUNGER IN IDAHO

America’s Second Harvest (A2H), Idaho’s biggest emergency food supplier, provides emergency food for an estimated 90,000 different Idaho residents annually; 17,300 different people each week.

*Source: Hunger in America 2006, Idaho

ONLINE RESOURCES

--UI Extension Nutrition Program: www.agls.uidaho.edu/enp/

--UI Horizons program: extension.ag.uidaho.edu/horizons

--UI Extension EFNEP, Bannock County: extension.ag.uidaho.edu/bannock/

--UI Extension EFNEP, Southwest Idaho: extension.ag.uidaho.edu/ada/efnep.htm

top