<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597165440197.jpeg" alt="Mark Pringle and his wife, Mary Jane Shanklin, say the pandemic has exacerbated issues that already existed in farming communities (Submitted)" />
 <figcaption>Mark Pringle and his wife, Mary Jane Shanklin, say the pandemic has exacerbated issues that already existed in farming communities (Submitted)</figcaption>
 </figure>By NOAH TABORDA <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/08/11/kansas-farmers-find-themselves-increasingly-isolated-in-need-amid-pandemic">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA
 — Mark Pringle has seen the self-sufficient mindset of many Kansas 
farmers and their families challenged by COVID-19 as the virus 
disproportionately impacts rural communities.Pringle
 is a fourth-generation farmer and the Democratic candidate for the 
Kansas House in the 13th District. He and his wife, Mary Jane Shanklin, a
 registered nurse, have watched as communities like theirs in Woodson 
County cancel fairs and close hospitals, distancing themselves from one 
another.“There
 is this idea, from outside and within some parts our community, that 
farmers are tough and resilient and can do it all on their own,” Pringle
 said. “Truthfully, farming was already a very marginal, at-risk 
business. Now, without many of those face-to-face interactions, we feel 
pretty much on our own to deal with our problems and that can be 
frightening.”The
 pandemic has exposed and uncovered fissures in communities nationwide, 
as marginalized groups feel the brunt of the pandemic’s impact. In 
Kansas, that includes many small and midsized farmers, who activists say
 already struggled with access to health care and unstable trade before 
COVID-19.Bankruptcies
 among farmers were at eight-year highs entering March, and then the 
pandemic hit, scrambling the food-supply chain. Restaurants closed and 
prices for cattle and hogs dropped as meatpacking plants, including many
 in Southwest Kansas, became hot spots for the virus.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597165498473.jpeg" alt="The Rev. William Barber II and the Poor People’s Campaign are pushing for moral solutions to the issues of systemic racism and systemic poverty. (Screenshot/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>The Rev. William Barber II and the Poor People’s Campaign are pushing for moral solutions to the issues of systemic racism and systemic poverty. (Screenshot/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>“It’s
 morally inconsistent and economically insane not to address these 
issues,” said the Rev. William Barber II, a leader of the Poor People’s 
Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. “If we don’t address these 
issues that have been exposed, we could find ourselves in another Great 
Depression economically and an even greater depression morally.”The
 Poor People’s Campaign is a nationwide revival of Martin Luther King 
Jr. ‘s 1968 movement to unite and uplift poor and impacted communities 
across the nation. Led by Barber and Liz Theoharris, of the Kairos 
Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice, the campaign is focused
 on confronting systemic racism, poverty and ecological devastation, 
among other issues.Amid
 COVID-19, the movement has pushed for a moral reopening plan that does 
not cast these marginalized communities aside. Earlier this year, Barber
 led a protest against various states’ reopening plans that left 
disadvantaged communities vulnerable.“Whether
 you are a Black person in an urban area or a white farmer in rural 
Kansas, this issue of being overlooked existed long before the 
pandemic,” said Letiah Fraser, a convener for the Poor People’s Campaign
 of Kansas. “It’s just much more evident during a health crisis that we 
have communities being left without care and medical attention.”Access to health care is a primary concern for Fraser. Since 2010, <a href="https://www.shepscenter.unc.edu/programs-projects/rural-health/rural-hospital-closures/">seven rural Kansas hospitals have closed their doors</a>.&nbsp;The
 nearest hospital to Pringle and Shanklin is 30 minutes away, driving at
 about 70 mph, and the clinic in town is only open four days per week. 
Shanklin has also noticed a concerning decrease in the number of people 
accessing the health facilities that have remained open.&nbsp;“I
 can say from the people I have spoken to that many are scared to go in 
and get that health help amid the pandemic,” Shanklin said. “It was 
already difficult to get the care one needs in these rural areas.”She also noted a lack of accessible testing when the virus was first identified in the county.Claire
 Chadwick, another convener for the Poor People’s Campaign of Kansas, 
said expanding Medicaid is something the organization is working to 
address now.“Our ‘health care is a human right’ campaign
 has been going on for a little over a year now,” Fraser said. “We need 
to make sure to bridge the gap for those left uncovered and unprotected 
during a medical crisis like the coronavirus.”<a href="https://www.khi.org/policy/article/20-05">According to the Kansas Health Institute</a>,
 a total of 132,000 Kansans would newly enroll in KanCare if Medicaid 
were expanded, including 77,000 previously uninsured. Expanding Medicaid
 would also provide an additional boost to at-risk rural hospitals who 
often receive pennies on the dollar when uninsured clients pay out of 
pocket.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597165536138.jpeg" alt="Poor People’s Campaign of Kansas holds a protest calling for the expansion of Medicaid (Submitted)" />
 <figcaption>Poor People’s Campaign of Kansas holds a protest calling for the expansion of Medicaid (Submitted)</figcaption>
 </figure>Fraser
 and Chadwick emphasized the interlocking nature of these issues for 
farmers. As these smaller farms continue to battle with larger producers
 and revenues decrease, many family members have been forced to pick up 
second jobs for insurance purposes or just for extra income, Chadwick 
said.“Many
 of these jobs are what are known, at least in pandemic times, as 
essential jobs,” Chadwick said. “As we know, many of these jobs also 
expose people to a greater risk for contracting COVID-19, which leads us
 to issues of access to care when they need it.”As
 farmers in Kansas see their already lingering issues worsened by 
COVID-19 — poor margins and lack of health care among them — groups like
 the Poor People’s Campaign say help is needed now to nip these growing 
issues in the bud.&nbsp;Pringle
 said a good first step, beyond expanding Medicaid, would be additional 
aid for small farmers from the federal government.“The
 federal government keeps saying these larger relief bills will end up 
benefiting the small farmer, but I don’t see those funds going to anyone
 but the big producers,” Pringle said. “If we aren’t careful, we won’t 
be able to come back without a lot more help than we need now.”Noah Taborda started his journalism career in public radio at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri, covering local government and producing an episode of the podcast Show Me The State while earning his bachelor’s degree in radio broadcasting at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Noah then made a short move to Kansas City, Missouri, to work at KCUR as an intern on the talk show Central Standard and then in the newsroom, reporting on daily news and feature stories.

Kan. farmers find themselves increasingly isolated, in need amid pandemic