As the holiday season quickly approaches, many people in Michigan are worried about how to pay for basic necessities, including food. The United Way says over two million people across the state are struggling to afford to eat. Almost half of all Michiganders now live paycheck-to-paycheck.
This struggle has become normal for the United States with the rise of inflation across the last decade. Statistics show that $32,400 in 2014 has the same spending power as $43,361.81 in 2024. 75% of Michigan's workforce is in retail and food service, where the average wage is only $13 an hour.
The minimum living wage for a single person in Michigan without children is $20.28.
Carrie Klingelsmith is the executive director of Manna Food Pantry in Harbor Springs. She told WCMU in a recent interview that they distributed over 1.26 million pounds of food in 2023, with pantry usage up 52% in the last two years.
Feeding America says 1 in 7 people in Michigan now faces food insecurity.
"I think there's a big stigma of going to food pantries and food banks," said Klingelsmith. "We purchase about 75% of our food. So it's all pretty new. And we do focus a lot on produce, protein and dairy just to make sure that we have the best food possible. We don't require any documentation. People can just come here, and if they're in need of food we're going to give it to them."
WCMU also recently spoke with Kelly Miller of the Greater Lansing Food Bank. She said that what people are telling them right now is that the cost of living is making it increasingly difficult to afford and access food in the day-to-day.
"At the beginning of this year we were serving 16,000 to 17,000 households every month through our programs and services," Miller explained. "Right now we're looking at about 18,000 every month, a little higher. It's a million meals distributed every single month and we need a lot of help to make that happen."
The Manna Food Pantry and the Greater Lansing Food Bank are only two of over 200 sources of food for those in need across Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.
Below is a map detailing some of these options, along with ways to contact the local food pantry near you.
For those in need of more assistance, Michigan offers Bridge Cards for temporary financial help with purchasing groceries with SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). People can apply through the MIBridges gateway.
Food Insecurity Facts:
- Adults who face food insecurity are at a higher risk of obesity.
- 2024 is the second year Michigan has offered free breakfast and lunch for public school students, impacting 1.4 million children across the state.
- The first food bank in the world was St. Mary's in Phoenix, Arizona.
