State's Effort to Cut Access to Health Care Could Cost Billions
In an effort to reduce the State's deficit, the Republican-dominated Legislature has reduced or eliminated health insurance for over 300,000 low-income residents. But those measures have apparently run afoul of new rules in the just-signed health reform bill. Unless the reductions are reversed, Arizona could lose almost $7 billion in Federal funds. For more information on this, visit http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/03/23/20100323kids-care-cost-arizona-billions.html.

Help St. Mary's "Be More Humble"

Channel 8 PBS is honoring non-profits throughout Arizona by sponsoring the Be More Awards. St. Mary's has entered the competition on behalf of its Community Kitchen program. Among the awards to be presented is the "Be More Humble" Award, given to the non-profit that gets the most votes in an on-line poll. So you can go to www.azpbs.org/bemore every day through April 12 and vote for St. Mary's; tell your friends, relatives, business associates, etc. to join you in voting.

A Good Source for Info On Poverty & Obesity

The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) is a good resource for information on obesity, especially as it relates to children. It quotes Census/USDA data showing that 16.7 million children (22.5% of all children) in America live in food insecure households, and 25% of kids aged 2-5 and 33% of school-aged kids are overweight or obese. A visit to http://www.frac.org/ will provide more info, as well as highlighting government programs that help keep children healthy. For a local (Arizona) organization fighting childhood obesity, visit http://endchildhungeraz.org/.