{"id":7005,"date":"2023-11-21T18:06:17","date_gmt":"2023-11-21T23:06:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/senatedems.com\/irwin\/?p=7005"},"modified":"2023-11-21T18:06:18","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T23:06:18","slug":"food-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/2023\/11\/21\/food-security\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan Senate Democrats Celebrate Thanksgiving, Legislative and Budget Wins for Food Security in 2023\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

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LANSING, Mich. (Nov. 21, 2023) \u2014 With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the Michigan Senate Democrats extend warm wishes for a happy, safe and healthy Thanksgiving to the people of Michigan. Recognizing the significance of food security during the holiday season, Senate Democrats have ensured that food security remains a top priority to create a more supportive environment for all Michiganders, from kids to seniors. <\/p>\n

<\/span>Earlier this year, the Michigan Senate, spearheaded by\u00a0Sen. Jeff Irwin\u00a0<\/b>(D-Ann Arbor), worked to repeal a decade-old Republican-authored policy that imposed a restrictive asset test for federal food assistance eligibility. The outdated policy has been eliminated, ensuring greater accessibility to food assistance for those in need. <\/p>\n

\u201cA safety net only works if you can use it before you hit the ground,\u201d Sen. Irwin said. \u201cFood assistance is meant to help families get over a rough spot. But refusing to help people until they have fallen even deeper into poverty makes it harder for them to get back on their feet.\u201d <\/p>\n

In the historic 2024 state budget, significant investments have been made to fortify food security across Michigan, including related funding for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).<\/p>\n

The MDARD budget included substantial advancements in promoting access to healthy food, such as doubling ongoing funding for Michigan’s Double Up Food Bucks program and allocating an additional $2 million for the fiscal year. This initiative matches Michigan-grown produce purchases for residents using food assistance, allowing them to obtain twice the fresh produce for their families while supporting local farmers. <\/p>\n

Moreover, the state budget allocated $160 million to universal school meals, ensuring a year of free school breakfasts and lunches for Michigan’s students. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs a former educator and an ongoing advocate for our kids, teachers and schools, I am so proud to have helped deliver this monumental school budget that invests in the areas of greatest need for our students and our school system,\u201d said Sen.\u00a0Dayna\u00a0Polehanki<\/b> (D-Livonia). \u201cWe are ensuring that all kids have the food they need to thrive and the supports they need to succeed, and that their schools have the funding necessary to address all students\u2019 needs.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to these efforts, significant budget investments have been directed toward food banks and community centers across Michigan to enhance food accessibility, which include:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
    \n
  • $1 million in funding to provide\u00a0home-delivered Meals on Wheels\u00a0programs\u00a0through the Area Agencies on Aging;\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • $12\u00a0million\u00a0for the Michigan Agriculture Surplus System to\u00a0purchase\u00a0surplus agricultural products for food banks throughout the state;\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • A one-time $1 million allocation, along with $525,000 in ongoing funding, to Kids\u2019\u00a0Food Basket to increase access to healthy food for Michigan children and families;\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • $5 million to support delivery costs and fees of food purchased\u00a0remotely using SNAP\u00a0food assistance\u00a0benefits;\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • $10\u00a0million on a one-time basis to increase access to healthy food programming.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Though not exhaustively listed, these initiatives\u00a0underscore Michigan Senate Democrats\u2019 unwavering commitment to creating a more resilient and inclusive food landscape\u00a0and working to ensure no Michigander goes hungry. During this holiday season and beyond, Michigan Senate Democrats encourage residents to volunteer at local food banks, support community organizations and share in the spirit of gratitude.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    ###\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    LANSING, Mich. (Nov. 21, 2023) \u2014 With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the Michigan Senate Democrats extend warm wishes for a happy, safe and healthy Thanksgiving to the people of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7006,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\nMichigan Senate Democrats Celebrate Thanksgiving, Legislative and Budget Wins for Food Security in 2023\u00a0 - Senator Jeff Irwin<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Michigan Senate Democrats Celebrate Thanksgiving, Legislative and Budget Wins for Food Security in 2023\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/2023\/11\/21\/food-security\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Michigan Senate Democrats Celebrate Thanksgiving, Legislative and Budget Wins for Food Security in 2023\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Michigan Senate Democrats Celebrate Thanksgiving, Legislative and Budget Wins for Food Security in 2023\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/2023\/11\/21\/food-security\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Senator Jeff Irwin\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-21T23:06:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-21T23:06:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2023\/11\/happy_thanksgiving2-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/2023\/11\/21\/food-security\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/2023\/11\/21\/food-security\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/#\/schema\/person\/d70eb43c43b9d6128dac1bd664ee6466\"},\"headline\":\"Michigan Senate Democrats Celebrate Thanksgiving, Legislative and Budget Wins for Food Security in 2023\u00a0\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-21T23:06:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-21T23:06:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/2023\/11\/21\/food-security\/\"},\"wordCount\":622,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/2023\/11\/21\/food-security\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2023\/11\/happy_thanksgiving2-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Press Release\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/2023\/11\/21\/food-security\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/2023\/11\/21\/food-security\/\",\"name\":\"Michigan Senate Democrats Celebrate Thanksgiving, Legislative and Budget Wins for Food Security in 2023\u00a0 - 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