There is no measure more telling about a society than how they take care of their children.

Minnesotans can be proud our state was ranked No. 1 when it comes to the well-being of children. The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count Data Book put Minnesota at the top for two years in a row. The state’s investments in health care coverage and economic stability were cited as reasons for the strong showing.

Although that is good news for many children, that doesn’t mean it’s time to sit back and say everyone is doing fine. The report showed major disparities in insurance coverage and likelihood of living in a low-income household between white children and children of color.

This isn’t just the case in urban areas where the number of children in poverty are obvious. In rural Minnesota, there might not be row after row of rundown housing that points to plight, but poverty still exists. The Mankato area falls below the average state median household income because livable wages are harder to come by. In Blue Earth County about 7,830 people aren’t always sure where their next meal will come from, according to Feeding America. About 2,010 of them are children.

Keeping children fed has become the goal of the greater Mankato community as it supports the BackPack Food program, which feeds children when school meals are unavailable, such as during weekends or vacations. In a survey of parents, 73 percent reported that BackPack Food Program meals are always or sometimes the main source of breakfast or lunch for their children during the weekend. In the 2014-15 school year, the BackPack Food program served 130,0148 meals to 750 students at 11 elementary schools. That number was expected to increase this year with the addition of more school districts.

Open Door Clinic is another resource in the area that helps get those in poverty the medical and dental care they need. The clinic hosted its first kids clinic last August, which attracted more than 200 children. Another growing program pairs dental students at Minnesota State University and Open Door hygienists, who travel to schools to do preventive dental work. The teams had 1,743 treatment sessions with children through this program last year.

Numerous other programs also are offered here through local governments and nonprofits that strive to better lives of children. Continuing such work to benefit low-income children is of utmost importance to give children as much of a boost as possible, from feeding them to making sure they have a solid education starting as early as possible.

Getting recognition for having priorities straight is something Minnesota should be proud of. We just can’t let the ranking stop us from acknowledging the work is never done, and the support is needed in the long term to help meet basic needs of every child.

 

— Mankato Free Press, June 26