The number of children living in food insecure households is rising across the country and in Michigan, according to a recent study by the USDA.
Between 2020 and 2022, the USDA said roughly 1.2 million Michiganders lived in food insecure households.
The study attributes the rise to expiring COVID-era federal aid programs such as the Universal School Meal Program and the Federal Tax Credit.
Carrie Klinglesmith is the executive director of the Manna Food Project, a food bank in northwest Michigan.
She said this trend has also occurred at the food bank.
“During the pandemic, we saw a decrease in the amount of people that were serving,” she said. “And then as of March of '23, those extra allotments of payments from the government ended, and we have seen significant growth.
According to Klinglesmith, the Manna food bank has had a 55% increase in visitors since the beginning of last year.
“We were serving an average of about 42 families at our pantry here at Manna, a given day,” she said. “And then at the final quarter, we were serving about 76 families at each pantry. And we saw the highest record, we served 110 families on one day in December.”
The USDA says the increase of food insecurity can also be attributed to the decrease in participation rates in food assistance programs such as SNAP and WIC.
