Oil Boom Not Benefiting All -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here.

McKenzie County ranks in the top five average annual wages in the state, with an average salary of $51,493 in 2010, Job Service North Dakota figures show. Neighboring Dunn County ranks seventh at $44,886.

But McKenzie County's poverty rate is 12.8 percent, compared to an 11.7 percent state average, according to the U.S. Census. Dunn County's rate is 11.2 percent.

To help ease the burden, the food bank's mobile food pantry makes the 750-mile round-trip from Fargo to western North Dakota every three months, stopping in Grassy Butte, Watford City and Killdeer. The most recent stop occurred late last month.

Of the 18 communities the mobile food pantry serves, Watford City has one of the biggest turnouts, said Melissa Sobolik of the Great Plains Food Bank. About 200 people typically seek food assistance in the city of more than 1,700.

And more needs to be done, especially with regard to housing. There are solutions, but they require some "out-of-the-box" thinking.