SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — While business owners across Michigan are doing their part to help families facing food insecurity, Democratic lawmakers are introducing legislation aimed at feeding families during the crisis.
Michigan House Rep. Tonya Myers Phillips is leading efforts with a five-bill package designed to provide emergency food assistance.
Watch Christiana Ford's video report below:
"I along with my colleagues are just stepping up and doing all that we can to make sure that we're serving the people. No child, no elder, no family member, no person with disabilities goes without food, so that's what this is all about," Myers Phillips said.
Her primary bill would allocate $900 million in emergency SNAP aid to cover lost federal funds and keep the program running for two months.
"It's proposed to take those funds from lapse work projects, which means money that was allocated and it didn't get spent... so it is available and there's also a directive in my bill for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to seek reimbursement because policies may change," Myers Phillips said.
Hear more from Rep. Tonya Myers Phillips below:
Comprehensive Food Security Response
The five-bill package includes:
- Securing Fresh Food Access: Creates a $900 million emergency supplemental for food assistance to SNAP recipients using project lapses to backfill federal funding loss
- Keeping Food Banks Stocked: Provides an additional $12.5 million supplemental for the Food Bank Council of America
- Keeping Food on the Table: Provides an additional $12.5 million supplemental for food pantry programs
- Call to Action resolutions: Urging President Donald Trump, Congress, and the USDA to reopen the federal government or ensure continued SNAP benefits, and requesting the USDA use its contingency fund to support SNAP as it did during the 2019 shutdown
Myers Phillips expressed optimism about bipartisan support for the emergency measures.
"I've seen some bipartisan interest and we're going to try to, I'm going to continue to do everything I can to make the case, and it shouldn't be a hard case. It really shouldn't. We're all human. We all have the basic need for food," Myers Phillips said.
Related video: SNAP benefits pause leaves over 1M Michiganders scrambling for food assistance
When asked about the timeline for action, Myers Phillips acknowledged the urgency while tempering expectations.
"I certainly couldn't promise anything would happen by Friday (day before SNAP benefits pause), but the important thing is that the bill is introduced the conversations are in motion and now the ball is in my colleagues' courts," Myers Phillips said.
Related:
- Michigan Double Up Food Bucks Program expanding as SNAP distribution disrupted
- List: Food resources in metro Detroit as pause in SNAP funding expected
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says the impact will be felt across the state as the agency that helps families put food on the table prepares for potential benefit disruptions.
Lawmakers will formally introduce these bills on the House floor Thursday.
Prime BBQ Smokehouse owner Waly Yasso is stepping up to help his community as Michigan faces a potential pause in SNAP benefits affecting 1.4 million residents starting Nov. 1 if the government shutdown continues.
Yasso is offering $5 meals until the shutdown ends, including pulled pork and pulled chicken sandwiches available to anyone who asks at the counter.
“It’s important because I have kids and I have family too. The last thing I want is to come home for my kids to say we don’t have any food,“ Yasso said.
The restaurant owner says his business, at some locations, relies on SNAP customers and he doesn't want any of them to go hungry during the uncertainty.
"We have to be there for each other. If we can't be there for each other, there's no reason for us to have an open sign anymore," Yasso said.
They will also give out 200 meals for Thanksgiving and increase meals to the Too Good to Go app, which prevents food waste by offering meals at lower cost.
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