The Michigan Food Security Council has made recommendations to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to maintain food security during the ongoing pandemic. The Council’s goal is to help struggling Michiganders, both those who face food insecurity on a regular basis and those who are experiencing it for the first time, to be able to feed nutritious food to their families.
The recommendations include addressing food needs by pursuing existing federal food program services and seeking flexible service options such as home delivery and incentives for retailers to accept food assistance benefits. Over 1.2 million Michigan residents get food benefits. Collaboration with partners to improve the infrastructure for food and nutrition programs is also proposed, along with helping communities to develop local community response programs.
Michigan’s food supply has remained sufficient throughout the pandemic, but the Council recommended developing strategies to address panic buying, prioritizing food workers for PPE, and engaging restaurants to deliver prepared meals to vulnerable populations.
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
