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More than 13 million American children live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level, which is $22,050 a year for a family of four. 1 The number of children living in poverty increased by 21 percent between 2000 and 2008. There are 2.5 million more children living in poverty today than in 2000. Not only are these numbers troubling, the official poverty measure tells only part of the story. Research consistently shows that, on average, families need an income of about twice the federal poverty level to make ends meet. 2 3 Children living in families with incomes below this level - for 2009, $44,100 for a family of four - are referred to as low income. Forty-one percent of the nation's children - more than 29 million in 2008 - live in low-income families. 4 Nonetheless, eligibility for many public benefits is based on the official poverty measure. This fact sheet - the first in a series focusing on economic and material hardship - details some of the characteristics of American children who are considered poor by the official standard.

Poverty is the single greatest threat to individual human development and it simultaneously creates profound social disruption in the United States and around the world. Unless institutions and citizens take steps now to reduce and prevent poverty--and the growing inequality that deepens and widens its damaging repercussions--we will face a nightmarish future that can be measured in untold numbers of destroyed lives, communities, and institutions.

This learning community is a place where Canadians can learn, share expertise, advance common goals, and connect with one another about reducing poverty in their cities. Together let's end poverty! 

Esurio is a student refereed academic journal published by the Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) with the proud support of Direct Energy. Esurio publishes articles on issues of hunger and poverty through a youth lens.  The journal features articles written and reviewed by graduate and undergraduate students and is published twice annually.

OnPoverty.org is the work of students, most of them journalism majors, at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va.It's intended for professional journalists who cover issues related to poverty, class, and economic justice.

Globalization As neoliberal policies continue to exacerbate poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation, the films in our globalization collection allow viewers to confront the harsh--and often hidden--conditions faced by those on the losing end of the dominant economic paradigm, as well as a framework for analyzing the forces shaping those conditions. They offer an alternative to the mainstream media coverage, reminding us that a different trajectory is not only possible but imperative.