Author

Sarah Melotte
Study: Poor, rural kids earn more than urban poor kids later in life
By: Sarah Melotte - December 11, 2023
Authors of a new study on social mobility found rural children born in poverty gain higher incomes as adults compared to low-income urban children. But on some measures of income attainment, girls born in low-income households don’t benefit from the same rural advantage as boys. Factors like community trust, social capital, and the rate of […]
Disaffiliation votes hold special risks for rural churches, United Methodist pastors say
By: Sarah Melotte - August 27, 2023
Rev. Katie Black had been serving her United Methodist Church congregation for less than a year when a member knocked on her office door and told her the congregation had been praying about withdrawing from the denomination. “I had heard a lot of stories about churches (disaffiliating) in bigger cities and it becoming a very […]
Rural food stamp recipients will have a harder time with new requirements
By: Sarah Melotte - July 9, 2023
More than 1.7 million rural Americans live in counties where there aren’t enough jobs for people who want them, making it harder for SNAP recipients to meet work requirements that were reinstated when the federal pandemic emergency declaration ended. Able-bodied adults without dependents must work 80 hours or more per month to continue receiving benefits […]