Don’t pit generations against each other over food assistance

A version of this column originally appeared in The Alpena News.

A proposal reportedly under consideration in Congress would pit hungry children against their grandparents when it comes to funding for food assistance. We Michiganders must urge our elected officials to fulfill their duty to ensure that everyone, regardless of age, has the nutrition they need to survive and thrive. 

At issue are the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which serves pregnant/postpartum parents and children under age 5, and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), which serves people age 60 and older. 

Historically, Congress has provided enough annual funding for WIC to serve every eligible applicant. But with food prices and food insecurity both rising dramatically in recent years, families’ need for support has eclipsed projections. Without a funding increase, WIC will have to cut benefit levels or start turning parents and their young kids away.

This would be disastrous for Michigan, where WIC ensures that nearly half of babies and toddlers get the food they need for health, growth and development. WIC is especially important for kids in rural and northern Michigan. 

Proposals under discussion could result in the loss of a fruit and vegetable benefit for current WIC participants and/or the wait listing of eligible applicants. This could potentially harm nearly 170,000 Michiganders, particularly Black and Hispanic parents and kids who face more severe hunger due to systemic racism. 

Reportedly, some in Congress are eyeing cuts to CSFP, which serves 65,000 older adults in Michigan every month, to help fill the WIC funding gap. Again, such a move would be most harmful in our state’s northern and rural counties, where residents are disproportionately older and disabled.

It’s not acceptable for Congress to fulfill its duty to one generation by taking from another. Here at the Michigan League for Public Policy, we firmly believe achieving economic security, health and well-being for all children requires a multigenerational approach. Kids are better off when their parents and grandparents are better off. 

As home to an increasing number of “grandfamilies” (families in which children are being raised by their grandparents or other older relatives), Michigan has a vested interest in seeing that both WIC and CSFP are fully funded and accessible to food-insecure households.

Cutting food resources is ineffective and costly. When Congress cuts funding for one nutrition program, hungry people simply look to other federal services, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and local food banks (whose federal funds also might be in jeopardy despite the steadily rising need in their communities). Also, food insecurity in our state leads to nearly $2 billion in unnecessary health care costs every year.

Michiganders already face a collective food shortfall of nearly $700 million. Widening the gap, especially during the two life stages when proper nutrition is arguably the most important, simply doesn’t make sense.

Our federal nutrition programs are meant to complement each other, and they’re strongest when they work together. Babies and toddlers shouldn’t have to compete against seniors for the crumbs left by an upside-down tax system that rewards the already wealthiest people–not for working, but for being rich in the first place. 

Whether we’re in the springtime of our lives or our golden years, we all have a right to food. In a country of such abundance as ours, there’s plenty to go around. Congress must reject the false choice between our youngest and oldest, fully fund all nutrition programs and work to build an economy that values people of every generation.