Jason Kane is a Reporter-Producer for the PBS NewsHour’s health unit, covering issues of health, medicine and health care reform for the national news program’s website and nightly broadcast. He joined the NewsHour in 2010 after serving as an education and general assignment reporter for The Winchester Star in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. He has also covered global health issues in six sub-Saharan African nations for the PBS NewsHour, NPR and Religion News Service. Kane graduated from George Washington University and taught HIV/AIDS prevention and education in D.C. public high schools for a year through City Year. His Fellowship will focus on the impact of food insecurity on the health of low-income populations, particularly children.

Articles

Six-year-old Jacob Portillo says he likes eating his broccoli at summer camp at Park View Recreation Center in Washington, D.C. The camp offers free lunches — funded by the USDA — to all participants and children in the community. For some, the meal fills a nutritional gap that’s crucial during the summer months when kids are out of school. Photo by Margaret Myers/NewsHour

Why summer is the hungriest season for some U.S. kids

When school ends each year, so do the free and reduced-price meals that most low-income Washington, D.C. families rely upon for basic nutrition. To fill the gap, the city's Dept. of Parks and Recreation manages more than 200 feeding sites throughout the city. The benefits go beyond nutrition.

Private alternative to Medicaid expansion faces crucial vote in Arkansas

In Arkansas, an alternative to the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion uses federal dollars to purchase private health plans for low-income residents who fall in a coverage gap. But now, as other states consider following suit, the Arkansas law, could end unless it is renewed by lawmakers.

Food Insecurity's Lingering Impact on Children

For a nation that produces more food per person than any other in the world, the United States has a major problem with hunger — and it only grew worse during the recent recession and its aftermath.