Inside McDowell County, West Virginia, the birthplace of food stamps | 60 Minutes

Economic Contrast and McDowell County's Decline00:01

For some, these are boom times with 401ks surging and the stock market at an all-time high. Drive 350 miles from the nation's capital, and the conversation shifts to survival. McDowell County, West Virginia, once the nation's largest coal producer, is now one of the poorest places in the country. It is the birthplace of the food stamp program and where the opioid crisis later took hold. Today, one in three households depends on food stamps. The program faces the largest cuts in history.

Government help comes and goes, promises are made and broken, leaving people behind. McDowell County sits deep in the southern coal fields of West Virginia, stretching more than 500 square miles across the Appalachian Mountains. There is one traffic light and more churches than can be counted. Clean drinking water is hard to come by; a turn of the tap can produce discolored water.

I think if you would ask probably nine out of 10 individuals here, they would tell you that they feel very much forgotten. By everybody, the government, every institution.

Pastor Brad Davis and Community Sentiment01:30

Pastor Brad Davis grew up in the coal fields just over the county line and leads congregations at five United Methodist Churches in McDowell. He spends his days listening to those who trust God and each other, but not much else.

I've heard directly people say, "Well, why don't people just move?" And my response is, "Why should we? Why should we have to move? This is home."