As West Michigan communities continue the uphill battle with COVID-19, a new shortage is emerging, impacting students during mealtime.
Battle Creek Public Schools in Calhoun County and Mattawan Consolidated Schools in Van Buren and Kalamazoo County both announced that a food distribution shortage is causing difficulties for food service teams and impacting school breakfast and lunch.
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On both districts' Facebook pages, officials said the short supply of ingredients could mean menu items change depending on what's out of stock.
Tyeya Storms' son is enrolled at Mattawan Middle School.
Her son isn't picky, Storms said, but parents of children with allergies might be concerned if a last-minute change means a child gets food their parents don't know about.
"It was just a warning to let us know kids who have dietary needs are reading the labels, because what’s on the menu might not be what they’re receiving," Storms said.
Both schools advised parents to be on high alert for changes in the school menus.
Michigan families who were eligible for food assistance benefits received an additional monthly payment in September in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Service announced Wednesday.
“No Michigander should go hungry during a pandemic, and I am grateful to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services for working hard to keep our communities safe and healthy,” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. “This additional federal funding from the Biden administration will help us provide additional dollars to feed 1.25 million Michiganders in close to 700,000 households.”
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Eligible clients will see additional food assistance benefits on their Bridge Card from September 18 through 28.
Additional benefits would be loaded onto Bridge Cards as a separate payment from the assistance that is provided earlier in the month.
All households eligible for SNAP receive an increase of at least $95 monthly, even if they are already receiving the maximum payment or are close to that amount.
Households that receive more than $95 to bring them to the maximum payment for their group size will continue to receive that larger amount.
Below are the maximum allowable benefits for SNAP customers based on their respective household sizes:
- One Person: $234
- Two Persons: $430
- Three Persons: $616
- Four Persons: $782
- Five Persons: $929
- Six Persons: $1,114
- Seven Persons: $1,232
- Eight Persons: $1,408
Eligible families do not need to reapply to receive the additional benefits.
People who receive food assistance can check the balance of their benefits on their Michigan Bridge Card by going online or calling a consumer service representative toll-free at 888-678-8914.
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