A bill changing the name of the PA Department of Public Welfare is making it’s way through the state legislature. But a new amendment to the bill will undo what […]
Archive | Commentary
This following posts are commentaries authored by Just Harvest staff and the occasional guest blogger about hunger and poverty in public policy, culture and the media, and politics.
What is the true poverty rate in America?
Will the real poverty rate please stand up? The standard figure – 15% – is now being recognized as only a snapshot of a moment in time and not a […]
Hunger Awareness Month: Poverty and hunger are closer than you think
This picture was once the common image of American suburbia. More and more, it is no longer the reality. Recent news reports show that the majority of Pittsburgh’s poor are […]
Hunger Awareness Month: Hunger strike in PA – prisons and the power of food
As we’ve been discussing in recent blog posts – and as we strive to address in our mission – the typical cause of hunger in this country is poverty. But […]
Hunger Awareness Month: Broke and Broken? The Psychological Effects of Poverty
As we explored yesterday there is no shortage of judgment for the 47 million Americans living in poverty. All kinds of stereotypes and assumptions abound that serve to blame the […]
Hunger Awareness Month: The Myth of the Culture of Poverty
Today, more than 46 million Americans live in poverty. How does one explain the lack of widespread outrage over this – that in a country as rich as ours one […]
Hunger Awareness Month: Three reasons why Just Harvest does taxes
I often am asked the question, “why is an anti-hunger organization running a free tax-filing program?” Though it may not seem logical at first, it turns out that filing a […]
Hunger Awareness Month: How does the restaurant industry keep people hungry?
Last month, I joined Pittsburgh fast food workers and economic justice activists on a 3am bus headed to the McDonald’s annual shareholder meeting in Chicago. Fast food workers and community […]
Hunger Awareness Month: Recipes for cooking on a food stamps budget
All that talk about pie yesterday got us hungry, so we figured we’d do something a little fun for Friday and talk about…food!
Hunger Awareness Month: “Stop judging me for shopping with WIC”
Last summer, Sue Kerr of Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents shared with us her take on “bullies with buggies” – the phenomenon of “register rage” when people in grocery stores judge and […]
