Michigan’s economy has suffered a great deal in the past 10 years. Coupled with high unemployment rates, high utility bills and higher food costs; more and more families are struggling Grant funds will the support the expansion of the School Pantry Program in the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan service area. $45,000 will fund the start up of 15 new sites, with all funds used to stock pantries with enough food to serve a minimum of 24 families per month in a school year.

Hunger impacts and individual’s ability to thrive. For children, hunger and food insecurity affects health, growth and development. Chronic malnutrition harms cognitive development and hinders the ability to learn, leading to lower academic achievement. The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan serves 22 counties where close to 100,000 children struggle with food insecurity on a daily basis – unsure where their next meal will come from. When this number is extrapolated to include families, this number increases to nearly 300,000 people. With school pantries, children and their families are able to utilize a food source, allowing them to leverage their budgets to pay for other necessities and provide them with hope for their child’s greater academic potential –a big step in the process to end the cycle of poverty.

“Please pass along this information to all of your contacts, save it to your favorites and vote each day. By spreading the word on Facebook and throughout the media, together we can help make school pantries a reality.” said Tracy Fowler- Johnston, Development Manager at the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan