Category Archives: Progress

One reason Progress Software isnt as well-known as might be expected for a nearly 40-year-old publicly traded company valued at almost $1.7 billion is that its tools largely go to market as embedded components of some 1,700 other software developers.

That indirect distribution channel, which reaches about a 100,000 end-customers, could prove a major boon for Chef, the DevOps pioneer that Progress agreed to acquire Tuesday for $220 million.

We like to say were the largest software vendor that derives the majority of revenue from other software companies, Rob Lauer, Progress Softwares senior manager for developer relations, told CRN. We will see some natural synergies in those ISVs with Chef.

[Related: The 10 Hottest DevOps Startups Of 2020 (So Far)]

Progress, based in Bedford, Mass., said it expects to close the all-cash deal for Seattle-based Chef by October 2020, subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

Like Progress app development tools, DevOps tools like Chef Habitat are a good fit to be sold as OEM components through those 1,700 vendors, which include industry stalwarts like IBM and Microsoft, Chef CTO Corey Scobie told CRN.

Definitely there are opportunities going forward to ramp up our ability to deliver products as a more indirect distribution, Scobie said.

That go-to-market synergy with its soon-to-be parent will take Chef, a $70 million revenue company with 300 enterprises customers, and 1,000 total, to entirely new heights, he said.

Progress, founded in 1981, sells several popular app development tools that enable critical business applications, but the companys portfolio is mostly bare on the operations side.

Progress has the capability to power the AppDev side of the equation, but its becoming more important for their customers to enable the streamlined ways to power the ops side, Scobie said.

With Chef, we have this opportunity to add to our portfolio in a meaningful way, in a new segment that adds to an existing customer base, Lauer added. Inorganic growth of that sort is consistent with Progress Softwares long history of strategic acquisitions to expand its product line and market reach.

Chef, founded in 2008, was among the first software companies to offer automated IT configuration managementoften referred to as infrastructure-as-codein the early days of the DevOps movement. More recently, the company has expanded into application automation and deployment, as well as security and compliance technologies that enable DevSecOps methodologies.

Those products are complementary to Progress portfolio of tooling to enable software development, testing and deployment, Lauer said.

And Chefs approach to market also dovetails nicely with Progress open source story.

Progress is committed to embracing and supporting the open source community around Chefs technology, which has seen more than 40 million downloads, Lauer said.

Earlier this year, Chef introduced its first channel program, and the synergies with Progress will substantially benefit those partners, said Dale Foster, CEO of Climb Channel Solutions, a channel distributor for both Progress Software and Chef headquartered in Eatontown, NJ.

The deal marries great dev-focused technologies from Progress with market-leading ops capabilities and promises to really move our customers DevOps capabilities forward in ways that neither company could have done alone, Foster told CRN.

Progress Softwares R&D and go-to-market machinery will give Chef a massive boost in its ability to innovate and expand into global markets, Foster said.

We are longtime partners of both companies and are really excited for the possibilities introduced by the acquisition, he said.

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Progress Software Could Massively Expand Chef's Reach Through OEM Relationships - CRN: Technology news for channel partners and solution providers

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This should be a wake-up call: New data suggest that the United States is one of just a few countries worldwide that is slipping backward.

The newest Social Progress Index, shared with me before its official release Thursday morning, finds that out of 163 countries assessed worldwide, the United States, Brazil and Hungary are the only ones in which people are worse off than when the index began in 2011. And the declines in Brazil and Hungary were smaller than Americas.

The data paint an alarming picture of the state of our nation, and we hope it will be a call to action, Michael Porter, a Harvard Business School professor and the chair of the advisory panel for the Social Progress Index, told me. Its like were a developing country.

The index, inspired by research of Nobel-winning economists, collects 50 metrics of well-being nutrition, safety, freedom, the environment, health, education and more to measure quality of life. Norway comes out on top in the 2020 edition, followed by Denmark, Finland and New Zealand. South Sudan is at the bottom, with Chad, Central African Republic and Eritrea just behind.

The United States, despite its immense wealth, military power and cultural influence, ranks 28th having slipped from 19th in 2011. The index now puts the United States behind significantly poorer countries, including Estonia, Czech Republic, Cyprus and Greece.

We are no longer the country we like to think we are, said Porter.

The United States ranks No. 1 in the world in quality of universities, but No. 91 in access to quality basic education. The U.S. leads the world in medical technology, yet we are No. 97 in access to quality health care.

The Social Progress Index finds that Americans have health statistics similar to those of people in Chile, Jordan and Albania, while kids in the United States get an education roughly on par with what children get in Uzbekistan and Mongolia. A majority of countries have lower homicide rates, and most other advanced countries have lower traffic fatality rates and better sanitation and internet access.

The United States has high levels of early marriage most states still allow child marriage in some circumstances and lags in sharing political power equally among all citizens. America ranks a shameful No. 100 in discrimination against minorities.

The data for the latest index predates Covid-19, which has had a disproportionate impact on the United States and seems likely to exacerbate the slide in Americas standing. One new study suggests that in the United States, symptoms of depression have risen threefold since the pandemic began and poor mental health is associated with other risk factors for well-being.

Michael Green, the C.E.O. of the group that puts out the Social Progress Index, notes that the coronavirus will affect health, longevity and education, with the impact particularly large in both the United States and Brazil. The equity and inclusiveness measured by the index seem to help protect societies from the virus, he said.

Societies that are inclusive, tolerant and better educated are better able to manage the pandemic, Green said.

The decline of the United States over the last decade in this index more than any country in the world is a reminder that we Americans face structural problems that predate President Trump and that festered under leaders of both parties. Trump is a symptom of this larger malaise, and also a cause of its acceleration.

David G. Blanchflower, a Dartmouth economist, has new research showing that the share of Americans reporting in effect that every day is a bad mental health day has doubled over 25 years. Rising distress and despair are largely American phenomenon not observed in other advanced countries, Blanchflower told me.

This decline is deeply personal for me: As Ive written, a quarter of the kids on my old No. 6 school bus in rural Oregon are now dead from drugs, alcohol and suicide what are called deaths of despair. I lost one friend to a heroin overdose this spring and have had more friends incarcerated than I could possibly count; the problems are now self-replicating in the next generation because of the dysfunction in some homes.

You as taxpayers paid huge sums to imprison my old friends; the money would have been far better invested educating them, honing their job skills or treating their addictions.

Thats why this is an election like that of 1932. That was the year American voters decisively rejected Herbert Hoovers passivity and gave Franklin Roosevelt an electoral mandate including a flipped Senate that laid the groundwork for the New Deal and the modern middle class. But first we need to acknowledge the reality that we are on the wrong track.

We Americans like to say Were No. 1. But the new data suggest that we should be chanting, Were No. 28! And dropping!

Lets wake up, for we are no longer the country we think we are.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com.

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Were No. 28! And Dropping! - The New York Times

Over a year ago, I and others started talking about the Fraternal Order of Police contract and key objectives for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, including improved use-of-force standards, civilians on a general orders committee, and the prospect of civilians on a use-of-force board.

We do now have an updated use-of-force policy that clearly defines de-escalation requirements, creates a clear standard for use of deadly force, prohibits chokeholds, requires use of proportionate force, and, among other provisions, requires annual review of national best practices. But concerns remainspecifically the absence of a clear definition of reasonableforce.

The consensus is that a newly created use-of-force board will be led by majority civilians. A consensus is also growing that civilians must be involved in deliberating on general ordersor rules that govern the IMPD and officer actions.

Perhaps the most glaring issue that still remains unaddressed is the opacity of the citys contract negotiations with the FOP, which is the union that represents officers. As the direction of police reform has involved more civilian input, the lack of it in a contract that represents 22.6% of the city budget is a problem.

Indianapolis taxpayers should have input in the citys contract with the FOP as we are most certainly an interested party. We could also eliminate collective bargaining entirely, as [IBJ co-owner] Nate Feldman posited in his June 18 editorial in IBJ.

The victories we have won have already taken entirely too long and, even now, have yet to be fully implemented. We are impatient with the pace of reform. You might forgive us when you consider that Black Indianapolis constitutes 28% of the city but accounts for 52% of use-of-force cases by IMPD last year, or that, of the 124 police-action shootings since 2014, 65% involved an IMPD officer shooting a Black person.

Progress is fragile, elusive and agonizing in its distance, and many aspects of police reform remain yet unfinished. The battles are still far from over.

It is not too early to call for the ongoing support of the institutionsbusiness and not-for-profitthat have spoken out so strongly on the need for meaningful change. Alongside the diverse voices of protest heard across the state calling for police reform and the diverse cross-section of Indianapolis that peacefully marched throughout downtown only some weeks ago, these groups must be prepared to stay engaged with their voices on police reform and in the struggle to find the appropriate police and community relationship.

Collective support must be part of a collective agenda.

Our hope is that the Legislature also will have a spirit of reform. If not, such collective support might truly be needed when the General Assembly reconvenes inJanuary.

This body has an unfortunate history of preemption of non-conservative ideas.

Can the business and not-for-profit communities replicate the energy and collective will displayed when threatened with the challenge of Indianas flawed Religious Freedom Restoration Act disaster? My sincere belief is that, yes, they can; and my sincere hope is that, this time, they wont have to.

I can only dream that the Indiana Legislature will heed the wisdom of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus criminal-justice-reform proposals, which also include police reform measures.

Candidly, I hope legislators recognize that police reform is necessary, and that work, generations late in coming and supported by a diversity of the populace, must be supported.

__________

Wolley is a lecturer, columnist and diversity and inclusion consultant. Send comments to ibjedit@ibj.com.

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Marshawn Wolley: Progress made in police reform must be protected - Indianapolis Business Journal

A man who was shot while trying to break up an unauthorized Airbnb party in Pendleton has shared his recovery progress with WLWT.Since that shooting last month, he is relearning to walk and recovering with a bullet still in his back.Cincinnati police said charges in the case are now pending.Stephen Knight, 32, said he never expected the situation would send him to intensive care, rehab and leave him unable to work."The situation could have been way worse and it could've been my parents standing over my grave," Knight said.That is a sobering thought for him.He's a father with a little girl to care for, and he's relearning to walk and care for himself after he was shot in the back last month.Knight is a handyman and had been asked to help break up a party, with an estimated 40 people inside, at the Airbnb."It's actually chipped part of my spinal, spine bone off, and lodged itself into my spine. So, I'll live with it in there for the rest of my life," Knight said.He said he has fractures in 10 ribs and three vertebrae.Cincinnati police said he was beaten as he faced at least 10 people who stayed behind in the back area outside."I did shoot one shot in self-defense, but then was shot in the back almost simultaneously," Knight said.He remembered the first night in the hospital and realizing something wasn't right."I mean, I've got to try to sit up and use my legs and I kept thinking that and I just could not," Knight said.Now, he's at an acute physical therapy trauma unit.Knight wears a brace and intense pain can creep in."I use a walker and go walk like 200 feet, but like any extended distance or anything, I have to use a wheelchair," he said.Knight told WLWT that doctors have high hopes he will be walking again by next year, but the scars are more than physical."This is not something you want to happen to you, so, always make your decisions wisely," he said.Cincinnati police said the investigation shows the shooter used their own gun.They said charges are pending in this case but have not elaborated further.Knight said he won't be able to work any time soon.He expects rehab and physical therapy will continue for months.A GoFundMe page has been started to help Knight cover expenses: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-stephen-recover

A man who was shot while trying to break up an unauthorized Airbnb party in Pendleton has shared his recovery progress with WLWT.

Since that shooting last month, he is relearning to walk and recovering with a bullet still in his back.

Cincinnati police said charges in the case are now pending.

Stephen Knight, 32, said he never expected the situation would send him to intensive care, rehab and leave him unable to work.

"The situation could have been way worse and it could've been my parents standing over my grave," Knight said.

That is a sobering thought for him.

He's a father with a little girl to care for, and he's relearning to walk and care for himself after he was shot in the back last month.

Knight is a handyman and had been asked to help break up a party, with an estimated 40 people inside, at the Airbnb.

"It's actually chipped part of my spinal, spine bone off, and lodged itself into my spine. So, I'll live with it in there for the rest of my life," Knight said.

He said he has fractures in 10 ribs and three vertebrae.

Cincinnati police said he was beaten as he faced at least 10 people who stayed behind in the back area outside.

"I did shoot one shot in self-defense, but then was shot in the back almost simultaneously," Knight said.

He remembered the first night in the hospital and realizing something wasn't right.

"I mean, I've got to try to sit up and use my legs and I kept thinking that and I just could not," Knight said.

Now, he's at an acute physical therapy trauma unit.

Knight wears a brace and intense pain can creep in.

"I use a walker and go walk like 200 feet, but like any extended distance or anything, I have to use a wheelchair," he said.

Knight told WLWT that doctors have high hopes he will be walking again by next year, but the scars are more than physical.

"This is not something you want to happen to you, so, always make your decisions wisely," he said.

Cincinnati police said the investigation shows the shooter used their own gun.

They said charges are pending in this case but have not elaborated further.

Knight said he won't be able to work any time soon.

He expects rehab and physical therapy will continue for months.

A GoFundMe page has been started to help Knight cover expenses: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-stephen-recover

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Man shot breaking up Airbnb party relearning to walk, shares recovery progress - WLWT Cincinnati

By GREG WALCHER

Whenever someone talks about the good old days, there is the inevitable question, good for whom? America is not perfect, and never was. Thats why they call self-government by ordinary people the American Experiment. Every generation tries to come closer to the ideals of the founders, to leave America better for the next generation.

Some mistakes and abuses of the past have long been recognized, especially the mistreatment of Native American tribes, African-American slaves, and other minorities. In 1988 the U.S. government officially apologized for the internment of Japanese-Americans in concentration camps during World War II, sent a $20,000 check to the survivors, and built a memorial in their honor in Washington, D.C.

There has been no such acknowledgment, apology, check, or memorial to another group similarly rounded up and displaced a few years earlier during the Great Depression because to this day almost nobody knows about it. Yet the displacement (some felt disregarded) of hundreds of Virginias mountain people, to make way for a national park, left scars that have never fully healed.

In 1934 the Madison County newspaper printed a poem by John Nicholson, explaining his 73-year-old fathers heartbreak at the thought of leaving the only home his family had known for 200 years. Part of it read, Some who left, wept and mourned, And said in words so sad, I would rather go to my grave, Than to leave my mountain home.

The government had decided to create Shenandoah National Park, and President Franklin Roosevelt was convinced it would bring prosperity to impoverished rural communities in the area, and state leaders in Richmond agreed. To the National Park Service, it didnt matter whether the people who lived there wanted it or not. Some probably did, but they were never asked.

In 1930, there were over 450 families, with at least 2,000 men, women, and children living within what is now Shenandoah National Park. They were mostly poor by todays standards, as were most people in the 1930s. Very few people there had cars, only a third of them even had a horse, but they made a living, raised loving families, raised hogs, cured meat, operated distilleries and sawmills, tanned leather, and tended orchards. Some were blacksmiths, carpenters, and stonemasons whose work can still be seen in the area. They traded, lived off the land, held big dances, and kept alive the old mountain music now recognized as the root of bluegrass, country, western, swing, jazz, and rock and roll.

But people of the Blue Ridge Mountains were looked down upon, considered hillbillies by much of the rest of the country. A reporter from D.C. wrote, Hidden communities of backward, illiterate people living in medieval squalor... illustrate the effect of both degenerative cross-breeding and difficult environment. Another popular author wrote that Most of these people had no skill or knowledge of the world.

History may not want to admit it, but part of the purpose of creating Shenandoah National Park was to preserve its incredible beauty and part of it was for the purpose of getting rid of these people. Congress appropriated money, and over $1 million was raised from donations, to buy the land, but many residents did not want to leave and wouldnt sell. The Virginia legislature passed a blanket condemnation law covering the entire eight-county region, offering a fraction of the lands value. In early 1934, the National Park Service gave the remaining people six months to vacate the land, but by the November deadline, 265 families were still there, facing the threat of forcible eviction.

Of those remaining, Mr. and Mrs. Melanchton Cliser were well-known, as the owners of 46 acres with a home, general store, caf, and farm. He locked his gate, refused to budge, and told Park Service officials they were trespassing. He was dragged away from his home in handcuffs, and the government burned the property, ensuring he could never return. Hundreds of others were also burned out, their homes destroyed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, which was building the parks roads and campgrounds.

Today, Shenandoah National Park is among the countrys crown jewels, enjoyed by 1.4 million visitors annually. Like almost all things done in the name of progress, though, it wasnt progress for everyone. Eighty-six years later, the Blue Ridge Heritage Project has completed memorials in seven of the eight counties. A new documentary called Shadows, from Wild Song Cybil Productions, attempts to tell some of the stories of these displaced people. They deserve to be remembered.

Greg Walcher is president of the Natural Resources Group and author of Smoking Them Out: The Theft of the Environment and How to Take it Back. He is a Western Slope native.

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In the name of progress | Columns | gjsentinel.com - The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

The gripping national debate over racial justice has prompted Walmart to overhaul the way it reports its diversity efforts.

The company with a workforce of 1.5 million in the U.S.has announced that as "part of itsjourney to become a more inclusive and transparent organization," it will be publishing not one but two workforcediversity reports each year. This is the first time that Walmart has ever put out amid-year diversity report.

"This challenging time is only pushing us to move faster, drive for more change and be focused on significant progress," said Donna Morris, EVP/chief people officer,Walmart. "The disparate impact COVID-19 has had on communities of color, the murder of George Floyd, and the necessary and long overdue examination of systemic racial inequity in this country have all led me to conclude that the American dream is not the same for all people. But with a workforce of 1.5 million in the U.S., and 20.69% Black and African American associates we have an incredible opportunity to role model and strive for racial equity."

In addition, the company says it has "added first-time disclosures to this mid-year report to show representation by race/ethnicity at all levels in the U.S., and representation of women at all levels in both the U.S. and internationally. The report contains more than 90 data points that are first-time disclosures."

As for those data points, the company says it isseeing positive trends across multiple areas from FY19 through FY21 YTD, including: +7.42% in management-to-management promotions for people of color (44.68% FY21 YTD); +2.97% in officers of color (24.89% FY21 YTD); and +2.2% in U.S. people of color new hires (55.03% FY21 YTD).

Walmart says all U.S.-based officers are participating in a two-day Racial Equity Institute workshop this year. The company has also introduced a self-paced race andinclusion curriculum that all U.S. associates can access to grow their understanding on cultural competence, inclusive leadership and how to become an ally.

"We will win in retail and business through our humanity, and well display our humanity when we do our best to be open, understanding, kind, and accepting of others as their authentic selves," Morris said.

Bentonville, Ark.-basedWalmartoperates more than 11,300 stores under 58 banners in 27 countries, and e-commerce websites, employing 2.2 million-plus associates worldwide. Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on ThePG100,Progressive Grocer's list ofthe top food retailers in North America, while Walmart-owned Sam's Club ranks No. 9 onthe list.

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Walmart Unveils Progress on Diversity - Progressive Grocer

Progress (NASDAQ: PRGS) a leading provider of application development and digital experience technologies recently announced it entered into a definitive agreement to buy Chef for $220 million in cash. Chef is a global leader in DevOps and DevSecOps and the deal will provide complete infrastructure automation to build, deploy, manage and secure applications in modern multi-cloud and hybrid environments as well as on-premises.

Launched in 2008, Chef now has over $70 million in ARR. And Chef has become a leader in continuous automation, an innovator in application automation, and a pioneer of the DevSecOps movement. Chefs mission is to help the most transformative companies use technology to become fast, efficient, and innovative software-driven organizations. The companys products Chef Enterprise Automation Stack, Chef Infra, Chef InSpec, Chef Habitat, Chef Compliance, and Chef Desktop.

The deal is expected to close in October 2020, subject to obtaining regulatory consents and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

Why Is Progress Buying Chef?

Progress CEO Yogesh Gupta said that Chef is known as a market leader with best-in-class products, a vibrant developer community, an impressive blue-chip customer base, and highly skilled and engaged employees. Progress plans to expand and accelerate Chefs successful product portfolio and go-to-market strategy.

Progress has become a trusted provider of some of the best products to develop, deploy, and manage high-impact business applications. Chef will enhance this position by providing industry-leading compliance and application automation products for multi-cloud and on-prem infrastructure.

Plus the acquisition will bolster Progress core offerings, thus enabling customers to respond faster to business demands and improve efficiency. And the acquisition also aligns with Progress growth strategy through accretive acquisitions and will add both scale and cash flow.

This acquisition perfectly aligns with our growth strategy and meets the requirements that weve previously laid out: a strong recurring revenue model, technology that complements our business, a loyal customer base and the ability to leverage our operating model and infrastructure to run the business more efficiently, added Gupta. Were thrilled to add Chef to our product portfolio and are confident that this acquisition will provide benefit to both organizations, as well as our customers, partners, investors and the Chef community.

Progress will fund the deal with existing cash on hand and funds secured under its existing credit facility. And the transaction is expected to be accretive beginning in Q1 FY2021 to both non-GAAP earnings per share and cash flow.

Chef and Progress share a vision for the future of DevSecOps and Progress will provide the scale to further drive Chefs platform forward and deliver additional value to our customers, explained Barry Crist, CEO, Chef. At the same time, Chef fills a need in the Progress portfolio in DevSecOps, infrastructure, application, and compliance automation that is highly complementary to its existing products. For Chef, this acquisition is our next chapter, and Progress will help enhance our growth potential, support our Open Source vision, and provide broader opportunities for our customers, partners, employees and community.

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Why Progress (PRGS) Is Buying Chef For $220 Million In Cash - Pulse 2.0

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) The Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce is providing an update on its See You in Terre Haute 2025 Community Plan. The chamber says the plan, whichlaunched a year ago, is designed to address a number of issues, includingdeclines in population and per capital personal income.

Steve Holman, community plan co-chair and chief executive officer of Union Health in Terre Haute, says the effort has made early accomplishments in several key areas.

Its been a much different year than expected, thats for sure, but the positive is that work for the Community Plan and Terre Haute has continued despite all the roads blocks, said Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett, who also serves as community plan co-chair. Were encouraged and feel good about the work thats been accomplished and look forward to forging ahead.

The plan is centered around six pillars: economic development, quality of life, talent attraction, health and wellness, and infrastructure.

The chamber says some of the accomplishments include its merger with Launch Terre Haute earlier this year, which it says will develop a stronger business hub and resources in west central Indiana.

Another milestone being celebrated is west central Indiana being named a 21st Century Talent Region by the Indiana Office of Career Connections and Talent.

The chamber says plans are now underway for a variety of other items, including beautification projects at I-70 interchanges, a new comprehensive Community Asset Guide to highlight the regions strengths and attractions for those looking to relocate, and a proposed Reimagined Riverfront Development near Fairbanks Park.

You can learn more about the See You in Terre Haute plan byclicking here.

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Chamber updates progress on 'See You in Terre Haute' plan - WISHTV.com

ORLANDO Celtics forward Gordon Hayward is close to being out of quarantine in the NBA bubble and has continued his rehabilitation from a badly sprained right ankle in hopes of a return for a potential appearance in the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat.

The Celtics lost to the Raptors, 125-122, in double overtime Wednesday to force a seventh game in their semifinal series.

Hayward, who sprained his ankle in Game 1 of the first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers, left the bubble Aug. 23 to be with his pregnant wife, Robyn, and his three daughters. Hayward returned to Orlando Sunday and began his quarantine.

Hayward, who is allowed to spend 30 minutes a day outside, worked with Celtics trainer Art Horne, walking through grass without shoes on to strengthen the ankle. Hayward was walking without a limp. His quarantine ends Friday.

The Celtics said Hayward would miss 4-6 weeks with the Grade 3 sprain, and Sunday is the four-week mark. The team has set no further timetable for his return but Hayward, a former All-Star, would boost a team that is one win from the Eastern finals.

Hayward has dealt with various injuries throughout his Celtics tenure but was completely healthy and playing perhaps his best ball since signing with Boston before the ankle injury.

Its uncertain whether Hayward would leave the bubble again when his wife is close to delivering his first son. He said several weeks ago he would leave the bubble for that occasion, but that was before the ankle injury and a return to Boston for two weeks.

Gary Washburn can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GwashburnGlobe.

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As his quarantine nears an end, Celtics Gordon Hayward making progress in recovery from ankle sprain - The Boston Globe

ACROSS AMERICA Kids are losing a lot of their innocence to the coronavirus pandemic. For millions of them, the pain of the pandemic is hitting the pit of their stomachs.

No Kid Hungry predicts that anywhere from 9 million to 17 million children could struggle to get enough to eat by the end of the year because of the pandemic.

No Kid Hungry is a national campaign run by the Share Our Strength nonprofit that works to solve problems of hunger and poverty both domestically and globally. No Kid Hungry works closely with Feeding America, the nation's largest nonprofit hunger-relief organization, which last month offered a startling picture of hunger in America amid a pandemic.

No Kid Hungry estimates that nearly half 47 percent of American families are now living with hunger, according to a national survey and study by No Kid Hungry. It's even worse among Hispanic and Black families, where food insecurity rates are 56 percent and 53 percent, respectively.

In the decade before the pandemic, hunger relief organizations made meaningful headway in cutting food insecurity among children a problem that nonetheless affected one in six U.S. children in 2017 and one in seven two years later, according to Feeding America, the nation's largest nonprofit hunger-relief organization and a No Kid Hungry partner.

Heading into 2020, food insecurity among children was at the lowest rate on record since the U.S. Department of Agriculture began tracking the key measure of childhood well-being in 1998.

Then came crushing job losses and other crises that threw millions of Americans into a vortex of economic uncertainty that no one is sure how long will last.

"It was one in seven," said Adrienne Carter, a spokeswoman for No Kid Hungry. "That's an incredible increase."

No Kid Hungry and other hunger relief programs and organizations have "made a ton of progress" in closing meal gaps for kids with in-school programs that bring breakfast into the classroom and others, Carter said.

"The pandemic has thrown things off and set us back," she said. "It's frustrating to see 10 years of progress being wiped out."

In "The Longest Summer," No Kid Hungry's special report on the effects of the pandemic, the organization found:

"The consequences of this will be felt for years to come," Carter said.

Research shows links between food insecurity and a range of health problems, behavioral issues and mental health conditions that can affect academic performance, the likelihood of graduating from high school and their earning capacity as adults.

Carter also noted that though most parents try to shield them, many kids whose families are struggling are experiencing the pandemic differently than kids from more-affluent families. Parents answering a survey reported that they try to protect their children's innocence so they won't have to worry about whether there will be food on the table.

There's no single profile for America's hungry kids. Some are homeless, but most aren't. Their parents may be among the four in 10 Americans living paycheck to paycheck. Those families were among the most affected as the economy shed 22.2 million jobs when businesses were shuttered under pandemic stay-at-home orders.

These families are facing other crises as well, including a looming eviction crisis that could mean 40 million Americans will lose their homes by year's end. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used its broad powers to halt renter evictions through the end of the year to help control the spread of the coronavirus.

However, the action delays rather than prevents the evictions and "extends the financial cliff for renters to fall off when the moratorium expires and back rent is owed," Diane Yentel, who heads the National Low Income Housing Coalition, told The Associated Press.

"We're talking about really hungry kids the ones who look forward to getting that backpack of food to take home for the weekend," Gay Anderson, the president of the School Nutrition Association, told Patch in an interview last year for a story about childhood hunger.

"I've heard many times, 'Oh my gosh, look what we get,' and seen the excitement in knowing they're going to have some food to eat," Anderson, the child nutrition director for Brandon Valley Schools in South Dakota, said of children's reactions to the backpacks filled with groceries they take home to their families Friday afternoons.

Stopgap measures like those disappeared when schools closed last spring.

Schools are reopening under a smorgasbord of plans that have taken shape amid contentious political debate. A strong point in favor of in-person learning is that the physical classroom is a lifeline for kids whose meals grow skimpier toward the end of the month when their families' food assistance benefits run out, or whose parents may skip meals so they can eat.

Supporting local food banks and community partnerships that provide free food and support school programs are steps people can take in their local communities to provide immediate help, but the "scope and magnitude of this challenge" requires a significant federal response, No Kid Hungry's Carter said.

Calling child hunger "an imminently solvable problem," she said the most effective ways to feed children during the pandemic require congressional action.

Among specific recommendations are for Congress to support and strengthen programs such as SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and P-EBT, the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer program. The P-EBT program authorizes states to issue food assistance benefits to parents whose children temporarily lost access to free and reduced-price school meals because of the pandemic-related changes.

The USDA extended the more-flexible rules for free and reduced-price meals until year's end, stretching out a program that served nearly 30 million children before schools shuttered in the spring.

Families now can pick up free food from any school campus, regardless of whether their kids are enrolled there or if they qualify for free and reduced meals. Before Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue extended the program for another four months, families faced having to start paying for the food and picking it up only from the schools their children attended.

"The waivers for school lunch are a big win for kids," No Kid Hungry's Carter said, adding that the extension is "just a stopgap until December that needs to go through the entire year."

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2020, more than 54 million Americans will not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.

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Coronavirus Reverses Decades Of Progress In Easing Hunger In Kids - Patch.com