For a surging population in Austin, making it work is increasingly hard work

Aug11
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“There are just times when you’ve done everything you can, but you’ve used up all your resources, ” explains Christopher, a husband and father of two, as he picks up fresh fruits and vegetables and other staples at Abiding Love Church’s pantry.

“We made sure our rent was paid this month, but it left us with very little extra,” he says. Christopher is a freelance designer, but as the companies that used to contract with him have had to tighten their belts, so has he. His wife works full time, but their combined income, while caring for a child with special needs, simply isn’t enough.

Trading off between basic necessities never amounts to a winning proposition. For an increasing number of families, this is what it means when they call Austin home.

In a new Brookings report, which analyzes US census data, Austin has the eighth fastest growing poverty rate in the country. The study looks at census data and shows Austin’s poor population has grown by a staggering 82 percent.

The study further warns that by not addressing the growing poverty in suburban areas, these areas could become areas of concentrated poverty.  Families living in concentrated poverty areas have the odds stacked against them they try to overcome their financial struggles in neighborhoods that tend to be disproportionately subjected to pollution, underfunded schools and substandard recreation facilities. This is a warning Austin-area residents should take seriously since the area’s suburban poverty grew 143 percent, the second fastest in the nation and more than twice the national average.

Living in the Austin metro area on a poverty income means that a family of four must figure out how to make ends meet with $23,850 a year when it could cost $50,016 or more to cover the most basic needs such as housing, child care, insurance and transportation.



When other expenses mount up, the families we serve often skip meals or settle for cheaper, less nutritious foods to cope. We believe these are choices nobody in our community should have to make. With your help, the Food Bank supplies Partner Agencies like Abiding Love with the kinds of wholesome foods Christopher and his family need to stay healthy and active as they face new challenges together.