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Hungry families need our help. So do the food banks that feed them. 
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March 24, 2022

Among the most enduring images of pandemic year 2020 were mile-long car lines as families suddenly beset by unemployment inched their way toward relief in the form of food banks. Such disturbing imagery is unlikely to return soon – the economy is rebounding after a record-breaking 2021, and the number of families seeking assistance is down precipitously from March and April 2020. But more families are reporting a lack of food, and visits to food banks are once again on the increase, in large part due to the rising cost of groceries, gas, and rent – three spending areas that disproportionately hit families with low incomes in times of inflation. 

CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship, March 18, 2022
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March 18, 2022

The two years in edition. Two years and one week ago, the World Health Organization declared a pandemic. Today, in the U.S., there is cause for optimism. We see that daily infections, hospitalizations, and deaths all have fallen precipitously – to levels we have not seen since last summer. There are hints of a return to normalcy in our everyday lives. Still: three red flags appear on the horizon. 

It’s not just inflation — it’s price gouging
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March 15, 2022

If you’ve been slammed lately by higher prices on everything from groceries to rental cars and gas prices, you’re probably wondering what on earth is behind these skyrocketing costs. Corporations are quick to blame this new reality on the pandemic, but another major culprit is hiding in plain sight: their own profiteering.

On this day we celebrate the American Rescue Plan 
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March 11, 2022

Friday, March 11 marks a convergence of one deadline and two anniversaries – all deeply entwined. By midnight Friday, in order to keep the federal government running, Congress had to pass either a short-term continuing resolution or a full-year appropriations bill. Friday is also the one-year anniversary of passage of the American Rescue Plan (ARP), a roadmap for how to respond to future crises – whether they are pandemic-related or economic-related, or, as in this case, both. Friday also marks exactly two years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic.

Missouri groups urge federal support for diaper banks
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March 11, 2022

Groups in Missouri are urging Congress to pass a full-year, fully funded appropriations bill, instead of a parade of stopgap continuing resolutions to fund support programs for low-income and working people across the state. Jill Gaikowski, executive director of the Happy Bottoms diaper bank in Kansas City, said many low-income families struggle to pay for diapers. She hopes to see funding included in the next omnibus spending bill.

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