On Monday, Meijer and Hormel Foods announced at a Feeding America West Michigan warehouse that they will be donating 2250 hams.
“We have to be cognizant of the fact that there are people who are food insecure in our state. We have to know that we have work to do when it comes to lifting folks out of poverty and encouraging and ensuring everyone has a path to prosperity and integrity in work.”
That’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer. She says that in West Michigan 1 in 8 people face hunger. But according to Access of West Michigan more than 20 percent of children in Kent County are considered to be food insecure — meaning they don’t always know if they will have enough food to eat from day to day. And Ken Estelle from Feeding America West Michigan says that many of these families are working a stable job but are still unable to make ends meet.
“We find that this is unacceptable. This is not something that we can accept at all. Especially when you think of 60%, more than 60% of families we serve, actually have a member of that family working, maybe multiple members of that family working and they basically don’t make enough money to make ends meet at the end of every month.”
In the last year Governor Whitmer implemented a policy change to increase access to food assistance for families experiencing poverty.
Michelle Jokisch Polo, WGVU News.