'It truly can be any one of us': Missourians are food insecure all over the state
FOOD INSECURITY: PART 1
When it comes to food insecurity in Missouri, there is no single story. Instead, the narratives are as sweeping and complex as the regions that produce them.
In the peach and apple orchards east of Kansas City, migrant farmworkers pick fruit around them, no grocery stores exist for over 20 miles in any direction. Inside the city, one of the longest-lasting black-owned grocery stores in the country shuttered in May after nearly 51 years, leaving the neighborhood without the ease and proximity it provided. Near the top of the Bootheel, in Sikeston, seniors seek résumé-building assistance from the local job center; theyre going back to work so they can make ends meet.
The busboys, waiters and housekeepers who keep plates heaping and floors sleek during Bransons bustling tourism season live in extended-stay motels without kitchens, stuck in cycles of seasonal and low wages. In the off-months, theyre out of work.
In Columbia, refugees find food through programs private and public. Burmese Christians and relocated Iraqis wait in line at Central Pantry, a grocery-store-style program operated by the local food bank.
https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/state_news/it-truly-can-be-any-one-of-us-missourians-are/article_05ebfe0c-7995-11e9-96e3-b7538c0ddc92.html#tncms-source=block-contextual-fallback