Tagged: Poverty

Food pantries around the state say they’re seeing unprecedented numbers of senior citizens needing help. Activists from across the state met for a summit on dealing with hunger among seniors today. Lisa Hamler-Fugitt with the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Food Banks says many seniors aren’t able to take care of their nutrition needs, which she says will cost Medicare and other programs in the long run.

A new census report shows Ohio's poverty rate is the highest in more than 30 years, and median household incomes are at their lowest levels in more than a quarter century.

Commerce National Bank chief economic adviser James Newton tells The Columbus Dispatch the census survey released Tuesday reflects the hits the state has taken from the recession, the loss of manufacturing jobs and other factors.

Homelessness in Montgomery County is on the rise. The two biggest shelters reported a 12 percent increase in need last year. But some people aren't in the shelters at all. They're living on the streets. For a pastor in Dayton the homeless problem has become personal. Ryan Riddel spent the month of January living in a van in downtown Dayton. As Emily McCord reports, Riddell chose to live this way to understand the lives of the homeless better.