Permit me to describe my poor little county in my poor little state. I'll try not to generalize. For what it's worth, our county is 97% white.
A lot of folks receive gubmint assistance. Unfortunately, they don't use those benefits to care for their children. They'll buy impractical or unhealthy stuff with their SNAP. I stand behind them in the line at Kroger. Chips, soda, you name it. Not pasta, vegetables, bulk ground beef or turkey. They could buy healthy, inexpensive foods and make them last until the next visit to the store, but they don't. Sometimes, they'll use SNAP for things like soda pop, then sell the items for cash with which they purchase drugs. A lot of children in my county come home from school to find the parent(s) passed out from drugs or alcohol.
As you might expect, they all seem to have smartphones, though (something my husband and I won't get because of the cost).
Their children at least get breakfast and lunch (and possibly dinner) at their schools, free of charge, thanks to the taxpayers. In addition, many of our churches prepare "buddy bags" and distribute them through the schools on Fridays, so that the children in the most need receive a grocery bag full of breakfast bar-type things, applesauce cups, etc., that church members have donated to get the children through the weekends without starving. Their parents don't bother to feed them because they're either too high or just figure the school will take care of it.
The whole system is messed up. How many of us have had the Great Depression described to us by our parents or grandparents? No one in my family received welfare back then, but no one starved, even when dinner was saltines in a glass of milk or just a bowl of popcorn. Parents did everything in their power to care for their children. The problem now, at least among those in my county whom I may observe, is that "parents" are anything but.
