Poverty is a big problem. We chose COVID as our root cause because it has contributed to a rise in economic inflation which has increased the average cost of living and decreased the overall rates of job availability within the community. As of Aug. 2021 9.2% (about 689 million people) of the world were in poverty. Something that contributed to that is the fact that from March 2020 to May 2020 over 20 million jobs were lost due to covid-19. Further, the years 2019 and 2020 were shown to be the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression.

In Waco alone around 17% of the population is in poverty. A contributing reason for this is the high cost of clothing with school uniforms. Families spend an average of $253.40 on school uniforms per child every year. Another reason for this is that home values in Waco have increased by 30.3% last year which cause family to be priced out of the housing market.

As a result of the poverty levels in Waco, 22.4% of children in McLennan County have food insecurity. Interviews were conducted with Caritas, Habitat for Humanity, and Mission Waco. These interviews helped us gain a deeper knowledge of the subject and how we can participate.