To start on a positive note, the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion in particular is shaping up to be a success story in WV. Aside from the fact that around 170,000 West Virginians are covered by Medicaid expansion and another 33,000 have gained coverage via the exchange, now hospitals are reporting huge savings. The Charleston Gazette recently reported that 25 hospitals have reported a $265 million drop in uncompensated care.
On a negative note, changes to food stamp aka SNAP benefits could result in thousands of West Virginians losing them.
On a positive note, my beloved Cabell County Schools is expanding free meals for students. On the other hand, Cabell is also ground zero for substance abuse, with over 900 overdoses reported last year.
Half empty or half full?
Showing posts with label Cabell County schools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cabell County schools. Show all posts
January 06, 2016
November 06, 2015
More it's not all bad
I'm trying to keep reminding myself of the positive things happening in WV right now--and there really are some. The latest example of good news is the vote by the Cabell County school board to offer free meals to all students starting next year and expanding the program to Huntington High immediately.
The county (my home turf) is already considered a national leader in child nutrition and opted for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) at the earliest opportunity. CEP allows for free meals to all students in schools where the poverty rate is at or above 40 percent.
The numbers are pretty huge. Cabell has 28 schools with an enrollment over 12,000. Huntington High alone has around 1,600 students.
This means that 20 of WV's 55 counties now offer free meals to all students. The majority of other counties (despite a diminishing number of holdouts) offer CEP to qualifying schools.
The county (my home turf) is already considered a national leader in child nutrition and opted for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) at the earliest opportunity. CEP allows for free meals to all students in schools where the poverty rate is at or above 40 percent.
The numbers are pretty huge. Cabell has 28 schools with an enrollment over 12,000. Huntington High alone has around 1,600 students.
This means that 20 of WV's 55 counties now offer free meals to all students. The majority of other counties (despite a diminishing number of holdouts) offer CEP to qualifying schools.
August 25, 2014
More good
I've been blogging lately about positive things going on in West Virginia. The latest example is close to home: Cabell County Schools, a true innovator in all things food-related, is not only feeding kids more local food, but some of its own kids are getting paid for growing it.
If you watched Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution show a few years back about his time in the Huntington area, Cabell's county seat, you probably will remember a lot of manufactured drama. In fact, the county has been way out front for years in this field, no pun intended.
It's been estimated that West Virginians spend over $7 billion on food per year annually, yet produce less than $1 billion of that. No wonder the head of the state Department of Agriculture likes to talk about a $6 billion opportunity.
If you watched Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution show a few years back about his time in the Huntington area, Cabell's county seat, you probably will remember a lot of manufactured drama. In fact, the county has been way out front for years in this field, no pun intended.
It's been estimated that West Virginians spend over $7 billion on food per year annually, yet produce less than $1 billion of that. No wonder the head of the state Department of Agriculture likes to talk about a $6 billion opportunity.
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