June 22, 2004
by Madeleine Baran, The New Standard
Almost 40 years since the Johnson administration announced a program to fight poverty in Appalachia, many people there struggle to afford basic food and shelter.
Johnson created the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) in 1965 to fund economic development in the region, which extends for almost 1,000 miles from New York to Mississippi. Since then, the ARC has distributed federal grants which have provided more than 800,000 people access to clean water and sanitation facilities, according to the Associated Press. Almost 2,300 miles of roads have been completed through Appalachia, at a cost of $6.2 billion funded by the Commission.
Continue reading Poverty still pervasive throughout much of Appalachia.
