discussion

2.

1.  Achievement gaps as the differences in standardized test scores between students from different backgrounds: ethnic, racial, gender, disability or low income (NEA, n.d). Recent studies by psychology professor Seth Pollack and economist Barbara Wolfe, from the University of Madison-Wisconsin, show a biomedical reason for the achievement gap between children living in poverty and their wealthier peers (Becker, 2016). 

In Pollack’s study, children living at 150 percent of the federal poverty line scored 4 to 8 points less on standardized tests than their wealthier peers. Brain scans revealed that those children had 3 to 4 percent less gray matter than developmental norms for their demographic. Those in deeper poverty, below the poverty line, had even less grey matter, 7 to 8 percent less. (Becker, 2016).” These are the “areas of the brain responsible for learning, including attention, emotion regulation, processing complex ideas, memory and comprehension (Becker, 2016)”.

 In an earlier study, Pollack and Wolfe had discovered that infants across all economic levels started off with similar amounts of gray matter but by toddlerhood those living in poverty had less total gray matter. Essentially they all started on a level biological field but something happens to children living in poverty that slows brain development. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what that is but research seems to indicate chronic stress and nutrition deficiencies could play a role (Becker, 2016). 

James Heckman, an economist from the University of Chicago, found that early interventions in high quality preschools are cheaper in the long run than later interventions. He cites a1960s study from the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program, finding that “every $1 invested returned about $7 to $12 back to society (Becker, 2016).”

 These important findings all point to the fact that poverty in the critical years of brain development affects that development so help and intervention from the beginning for the youngest of those in poverty is of great importance and has long-term benefits.

2.   A Place at the Table introduced viewers to Barbie Izquierdo, a young, single mom of two living in Philadelphia, PA., who face many obstacles in providing nutritious food fore her children. (Jacobson, K. & Silverbush, L. 2013).

 There were three main barriers Barbie faced when it came to feeding her children adequately. The first was the bureaucracy of public assistance. When she was working she could barley make ends meet but was just a few dollars over the eligibility line to receive help. When she lost her job and did qualify for food help, she was actually better able to feed her kids but, still, food would run out before the end of the month. When she finally found another job and lost her food assistance, she had a harder time putting food on the table than when she wasn't working. (Jacobson, K. & Silverbush, L. 2013). The safety net that helped her when she was unemployed should have been there long enough to get back on her feet. In a system in which the goal is to get people working, it doesn't make sense that working made it harder for her to feed her family.

 A second barrier was access to healthy food. Barbie had to take two buses and travel over an hour each direction to get to a full-service grocery store where she could purchase the food she needed. The film talked about food deserts and towns that have no fresh fruits and vegetables available. It comes down to cost and benefits of scale. It is far cheaper to deliver a large quantity of food at once, to a few places than small quantities to many (Jacobson, K. & Silverbush, L. 2013).

 A final barrier to good nutrition for Barbie’s family is the cost of healthy food. When she had financial help and was able to get to where she needed to purchase food, the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables prevented her from being able to buy them regularly. She had to make her dollars stretch and unfortunately processed food goes farther and costs less. These barriers to good nutrition were accumulating and her young son was already facing health and learning problems, problems that might be prevented with an adequate diet. (Jacobson, K. & Silverbush, L. 2013).

3.    There were many shocking statistics in the Feeding America fact sheets. The first thing that resonated with me was the breakdown in dollars. In 2014, Seventy-two percent of the families served by Feeding America lived at or below the poverty line. That did not surprise me, as it is a non-profit hunger relief organization designed to help the poor in our nation. What did surprise me was how low the median annual household income level of those served is: $9,175 (Feeding America, 2018). That’s $765 a month. How can anyone live on that? It is very sobering. The website then mentions that 58% of food-insecure households participate in a federal food assistance program. SNAP benefits average $128 a month, per person; that is $32 a month, $1.40 per meal (Why SNAP, 2017). To feed oneself any semblance of healthy food on this budget seems impossible. My son is away at college. He lives off campus and his food budget is more than double SNAP benefits but he still struggles to get enough healthy food in his diet. He goes for what is cheap. I can’t imagine if he had to cut his food budget in half!

That leads to another statistic that surprised me at first but actually makes sense: 1 out of 3 households served by Feeding America have a member with diabetes (Feeding America, 2018). Diet and health go hand in hand. If those living in poverty cannot afford healthy food, it follows that there will be health consequences such as diabetes. The cost of treating diabetes in America in 2017 was $327 billion. Just over sixty-seven percent of that cost is provided by government insurance (American Diabetes Association, 2019). It seems the savings in medical spending on diet related disease such as diabetes would help offset the cost of investment in nutrition education and helping those in poverty afford healthier food.

The third statistic that broke my heart was the number of seniors facing hunger: five million (Feeding America, 2018). After working and living a full life, it is heartbreaking to think of people going hungry in their old age, or needing to choose between medications and meals. They deserve better.

4.    One of the ways communities have changed is in the collective involvement of adults in the life of neighborhood kids. When discussing this, Putnam states “If it takes a village to raise a child, the prognosis for American children isn't good: in recent years, villages all over America, rich and poor, have shirked collective responsibility for our kids (Putnam, 2015, pg. 205).”  I experienced the “village” mentality in the neighborhood I grew up in. Everyone knew everyone’s business and no one could get away with anything without word getting back to your parents. I also saw this play out when I visited impoverished neighborhoods in Colombia. Even though they were in deep poverty, there was a collective community mentality with neighbors helping each other with everything; sharing what little they had to helping with each other’s children. It was community unlike anything I had seen and I came away thinking that when it came to community, the US was in poverty.

 Another change over the last several decades is the availability of community resources for extracurricular activities. Putnam mentions specifically community and recreation centers that used to provide activities for everyone have been closed due to funding cuts, and organizations such as PALS which provided free sports programs now charge to play (Putnam, 2015). This widens the opportunity gap between those in poverty and their peers. Those who can afford it take part in private programs but those in poverty go without. Extracurricular activities are important for skills development as well as social connections and the children who have no access suffer for it.

 Another area of change in communities is religious involvement. Putnam states that historically churches have played an important role in communities but that is changing and the class gap is widening as poor families have less involvement with religious institutions than affluent families. This matters, Putnam says, because ‘churchgoing kids have better relations with parents and other adults, have more friendships with high-performing peers, are more involved in sports and other extracurricular activities, are less prone to substance abuse, risky behavior, and delinquency (Putnam, 2015, pg. 224). It is interesting that in his family case studies at the beginning of the chapter you could see how important religious involvement turned out to be for Lisa. She did attend church but ended up abusing drugs and getting pregnant. However, the youth pastor and her husband became mentors and church relationships proved important in improving her situation. I thought it was interesting in the video that Putnam said he himself is not religious but he understands the importance of churches in community (America's Opportunity Gap, 2015).  

REFERENCE

American Diabetes Association. (2019, January 30). The cost of diabetes. Retrieved from: http://www.diabetes.org/advocacy/news-events/cost-of-diabetes.html

America’s Opportunity Gap. (2015, June 11). World Affairs. [video]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yntEpa9tB5g