GRAND RAPIDS. — A new report from Michigan Association of United Ways shows almost half of Michigan families are struggling to pay for basic necessities like housing, childcare and food.
"Our families are struggling. The prices for things are fluctuating in these uncertain times so families don't know if they're going to be able to afford food this week." said Liz DeLaLuz, Heart of West Michigan United Way VP of Community Impact.
The ALICE threshold is the minimum average income needed for a household to afford basic living expenses such as housing, childcare, food, transportation, and healthcare in a specific area. 41% of Michigan families live below this threshold.
One of the families struggling is Fredericka Brown's.
Brown is a single mom with three boys. After a brief stint receiving federal and state benefits, she got a new job that paid more but made her ineligible for those benefits.
"I was okay with that because I'm always striving for self-sufficiency, but then it was like well dang now I'm not elligible for anything," Brown admitted. "I felt like I was worse off than I was when I was receiving benefits."
While she says she is in a better position, her budget is not, which has created dilemmas for her at the grocery store.
"Going to the grocery store it's like well I call it...rob Peter to pay Paul. Like I have to decide if I'm going to spend money on food or if I'm going to pay this bill," Brown said.
Brown's family isn't the only one in West Michigan facing challenges.
Data from the United Way shows a number of families in West Michigan live below the ALICE threshold.
| Muskegon County | 44% |
| Newaygo County | 43% |
| Ionia County | 42% |
| Montcalm County | 41% |
| Kalamazoo County | 39% |
| Kent County | 37% |
| Ottawa County | 36% |
| Allegan County | 35% |
| Barry County | 33% |
The Salvation Army in Kent County says they too have seen an increase in people requesting their services. In 2021, the Salvation Army served about 89 households per month. Today, they serve an average of 345 households per month. That's a 300-percent increase.
"The economy has come from a period after the pandemic where there was a tremendous amount of stimulus in the country. All of that money in the economy caused inflation and now those programs have been rolled back," Michigan State University economy professor Antonio Doblas-Madrid explained. "So, now we have higher prices and we have lower incomes."
Doblas-Madrid at Michigan State University says uncertainty in the economy — paired with potential changes to programs like Medicaid and SNAP — could continue to stretch home budgets.
"A return to normal may not look exactly like the situation we had five or ten years ago," Doblas-Madrid admitted.
But despite concerns from economists, Brown says she's doing the best she can to shut out the noise and focus on the light at the end of the tunnel.
"There's all these things looming like this cut and that cut and all those things, but I think that the light for me is just knowing that I'm always going to strive better for my children, my family and my community," Brown said.
Professor Doblas-Madrid says people should keep a very close eye on their household budget going forward. He recommends holding off on buying the latest and greatest in tech and suggests buying things in bulk while also trying your best to avoid any credit card debt.
The Heart of West Michigan United Way also encourages people struggling to stop in or call 211.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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