by Robert Anderson Publisher Lakeland Gazette
With the poverty rate nearing 20% that means 1 of every 5 people is below the poverty rate in Lakeland Florida.
59% of all Polk County households fall below the 200% poverty rate why?
Nearly 20,000 of the 100,035 Lakeland residents reported income levels below the poverty line in the last year.
Since 2017 poverty rates in Lakeland have been inching upward. It’s even worse if you are Black 33.5% or Hispanic 24.7%.
Poverty rate by school enrollment is unbelievable:
- Enrolled in School in Lakeland, Florida have a Poverty Rate of 24.0%.
- Enrolled in Nursery School in Lakeland, Florida have a Poverty Rate of 24.7%.
- Enrolled in Elementary School (Grades 1-4) in Lakeland, Florida have a Poverty Rate of 32.1%.
- Enrolled in Middle School (Grade 5-8) in Lakeland, Florida have a Poverty Rate of 22.1%.
- Enrolled in High School (Grades 9-12) in Lakeland, Florida have a Poverty Rate of 17.7%.
- Enrolled in Undergraduate School in Lakeland, Florida have a Poverty Rate of 25.0%.
- Enrolled in Graduate or Professional School in Lakeland, Florida have a Poverty Rate of 15.4%.
Poverty rates by community:
| Auburndale | 17.0% |
| Babson Park | 17.5% |
| Bartow | 18.9% |
| Combee Settlement | 27.0% |
| Crooked Lake Park | 35.5% |
| Crystal Lake | 35.3% |
| Cypress Gardens | 8.2% |
| Davenport | 15.3% |
| Dundee | 32.6% |
| Eagle Lake | 15.2% |
| Fort Meade | 18.8% |
| Frostproof | 23.1% |
| Haines City | 28.6% |
| Highland City | 7.8% |
| Kathleen | 23.7% |
| Lake Alfred | 21.3% |
| Lake Hamilton | 10.3% |
| Lakeland | 19.9% |
| Lakeland Highlands | 4.2% |
| Lake Wales | 21.1% |
| Medulla | 13.9% |
| Mulberry | 19.6% |
| Polk City | 19.9% |
| Winter Haven | 18.7% |
Food Banks and Pantries are over run with need but are own elected government officals will not step up and help those in need, why?
And some the product that the local pantries are getting now is out of expiration date by two to six months. This will make people very ill and may cause great harm to a child.
We thank the suppliers for the donations but most of the products go to waste.
What Lakeland needs is a centralized distribution system to get the donations quickly to the ones in need.
MidWest Food Bank is currently looking for land and the funds in the I4 / Lakeland corridor to build a 100,000 sqft warehouse is a centralized distribution hub to get the donations quickly in and out to the ones in need.
Midwest Food Bank currently distributes over $18.5 million worth of food to over 1,700 non-profits each month. They stand ready for disaster relief efforts and can get food-filled relief boxes to those in need, within 24 hours. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the valuable work of our volunteers, and most importantly, the blessings of God, Midwest Food Bank now shares the blessings worldwide. $229 million worth of food was distributed in 2018.
We need your help today to make this centralized distribution hub happen. Please contact this newspaper for more details [email protected]