Second Harvest survey
The results of a new client survey from Second Harvest of Silicon Valley show local families are being hit hard by inflation and the high cost of gas, with 93% of respondents reporting that they have bought less food recently due to these factors. In addition, more than 60% reported having less than $250 in savings, and 73% said they are worried about being able to pay next month’s rent or mortgage, a 25% jump in the number of clients who had that concern last year.
The number of people Second Harvest serves doubled during the pandemic – from 250,000 to 500,000 a month – when the increase in need was mainly due to job loss, and continues to stay extremely high at an average of about 450,000 every month.
The fact that pandemic support programs like the child tax credit, rent relief and increased CalFresh benefits are either gone or being phased out is placing further stress on low-income households.
“When the other pandemic support programs are phased out, we expect our services to spike again,” Bacho said.
Neighborhood Notes
ROSE GARDEN>>BASIS Independent Silicon Valley, a private high school at 1290 Parkmoor Ave., made a strong showing in the 2023 Niche school rankings, placing second as the best high school for STEM in both California and the San Francisco Bay Area and fourth for best high school for STEM in America. The San Jose campus was also ranked the 16th best college prep private high school in California.
Factors for the 2023 Niche Best Private High Schools Rankings include SAT and ACT scores, the quality of colleges that students consider, student-teacher ratio and private school ratings. The data is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education, Niche users and the schools directly.
Source: www.mercurynews.com