Hunger is a serious issue across the country –– with nearly 14.3 million households in the United States considered food insecure in 2018. In those households are more than 11 million children who live in uncertainty of when they’ll see their next meal.
And since the COVID-19 pandemic, as Michigan’s unemployment rate has increased to levels not seen since the Great Depression, more families are relying on food assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the National School Lunch Program.
These programs help feed children breakfast and lunch at school and enable families to purchase nutritious food at the grocery store during this unprecedented time.
But did you know they are funded based on data from the census?
So, how can you make sure that for the next decade your family and community have the resources they need for nutritious food and food assistance?
Make sure everyone who lives in your house is counted in the 2020 census – even grandparents, college students living at home during the school year and newborn babies.
And be sure to tell your family, friends and neighbors why it’s important to fill out the census. It’s easy to fill it out online at 2020census.gov.
Together, we can keep Michigan healthy and fed, all the way from Monroe to Keweenaw County.
When everyone counts, everyone wins!