“We have had to sacrifice our car repairs to make up for grocery expenses.”
Amanda is a West Michigan resident utilizing food assistance programs. During Feeding America West Michigan’s campaign launch conference, she spoke about how food insecurity is affecting her children.
“Rarely can we afford to contribute to their sports registration fees or equipment.”
Feeding America’s Bridge the Gap campaign is born out of what its president and CEO Ken Estelle calls the perfect storm.
“We have unprecedented need, we have food cancellations and food issues, and we’re also looking at assistance changes in food assistance programs.”
Those changes are in the form of $186 billion in federal funding cuts to SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, over the next decade. It’s estimated 123,000 Michiganders will lose those benefits increasing the food insecurity rate over 16%, the highest level in Feeding America’s 44-year history.
“We are absolutely committed to making sure that we have food available for everyone that needs help in our service area.”
Feeding America serves all of lower West Michigan and the entire Upper Peninsula.
