Source: School of Public Health
Family eating together at the dining table
Family eating together at the dining table
Every year, hundreds of thousands of Michigan parents worry about whether they can afford to feed their children. Rising food prices, the state’s housing crisis and the end of financial assistance during the COVID pandemic have resulted in more Michigan families facing food insecurity today than before the pandemic.
A new report led by the University of Michigan School of Public Health details these families’ firsthand experiences: their challenges in applying for food assistance, the stress and shame they feel when they have to ask for food assistance, and the deep dedication parents have to make sure their children have something to eat – even if it means they themselves have to go without.
The report, titled “Feeding MI Families: Michigan Families’ Lived Experience of Food Access and Food Assistance,” describes the findings of the community-based participatory research project Feeding MI Families, which involved nearly 1,300 parents from urban and rural communities across the state. The project’s goal is to strengthen the lived experience of food insecurity to inform improvements in federal, state and local food systems so they work better for families.
Feeding MI Families was founded in 2021 with a grant from the WK Kellogg Foundation to improve the experiences of food insecure families from Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Battle Creek. In 2022, with support from the Michigan Farm Bureau Family of Companies, Feeding MI Families expanded to families from the state’s 57 rural counties. In rural communities, food insecurity rates are often comparable to those in urban areas. According to the report, 22% of children in Wayne and Roscommon counties in Michigan are food insecure.
“We believe that life on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan could not be more different than
“Living in Detroit, we hear about the same problems with grocery shopping over and over again, whether it’s a lack of transportation, high food prices at local grocery stores, or not being able to find brands you can buy with WIC benefits,” says Kate Bauer, director of Feeding MI Families and associate professor of nutritional sciences at Michigan Public Health. “While the solutions to these problems may vary by location, the needs and desires of families are the same.”
Bauer points out that while many food assistance programs want to hear the opinions of clients and the community, they don’t have the resources to gather that information, and there is often a disconnect between those in power and those who need the assistance.
“There are many stereotypes and assumptions about families experiencing food insecurity,” says Bauer. “We hope that Feeding MI Families will help dispel these inaccuracies and encourage more organizations to meaningfully involve people with first-hand experience in decision-making. Communities know what they need to overcome food insecurity. We need to listen to them and learn from them.”
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