Residents receive food at the St. Helena Pantry in the Bronx in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
toggle caption
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Residents receive food at the St. Helena Pantry in the Bronx in New York City.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
In 2020, more than 37 million Americans lived in poverty according to new data from the U.S Census Bureau. That's 3.3 million more than in 2019.
But this number doesn't include those who are above the poverty line and struggling to make a living.
According to the Poor People's Campaign, once low-income families are accounted for, that number is closer to 140 million Americans.
What does it actually mean to be poor? How do people fall below the poverty line? And why is it so hard to get above it? We carve out time to talk about poverty in America in our series "The Price of Poverty."
The University of Michigan's Luke Shaefer, U.S. Census Bureau's Liana Fox, and Washington State University's Jennifer Sherman join us for the first part of our series.
Like what you hear? Find more of our programs online.
Stay on top of the latest stories and developments, sent when news breaks.