Friday, April 23, 2004


Economy dishes up hunger pains

"Food insecurity" is rising in the state, a nationwide report released today shows.

About 9 percent of Michigan families -- or 359,444 households -- often don't know where their next meal is coming from, according to the study. About a third of them occasionally go hungry, said the Food Research and Action Center in Washington, D.C.

The greatest increase has come in the Food Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, which saw the number of Michigan residents served grow from 750,037 in 2002 to 837,629 last year. Over the past three years, participation is up 39 percent, according to the report.

By February of this year, the number of Michigan residents on food stamps was up to 917,969, state statistics show.