Joe Gentry

For many of us there’s a breakfast spot we remember from our childhood – a favorite diner, a familiar chain, or even a fast-food stop. When my grandmother Gentry would visit, she loved to have breakfast at Kresge’s and on Sundays my father enjoyed taking us to the Pewabic Room at the former Fletcher Motel. For us, eating out was a way to save time and stay connected amid busy work schedules and home and family duties. We weren’t going for fancy meals – just affordable, comforting staples we could count on.

So, when I saw the recent news about some restaurants charging extra per egg due to the national egg shortage, it brought back those childhood memories. And I thought about how something as small as an egg could quickly become trouble for families with little financial cushion.

It turns out, the bird flu has devastated the poultry industry, with over 145 million chickens culled since 2022 to stop its spread. The result? Egg prices have soared, hitting $4.94 per dozen this spring, and the USDA predicts another 20% increase this year. For some, that’s just another inconvenience. But for the 46% of the households in Alpena County, 44% in Alcona, 50% in Montmorency and 44% in Presque Isle, that can’t make ends meet, it’s just another hit to a fragile budget.

And if a struggling family tries to save money by switching to cereal instead of eggs? The price of cereal has jumped just as much – rising from around $6 to nearly $10 per family-sized box since the pandemic. To make matters worse, manufacturers have shrunk the box size while charging more, a trend widely known as “shrinkflation.”

I don’t blame the businesses for this – they are facing rising cost themselves. But it is just another hurdle for ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) families with income above the Federal Poverty Level but less than the cost of essentials. ALICE works hard, often at more than one job, and still falls short. In fact, in Michigan, a family of four with two adults working as a full-time personal care aide and stock worker/order filler – two jobs – earns about $8,446 less than what is needed just to cover the basics like groceries.

And it is not just certain jobs. Across our state, about one third of workers in the 20 most common jobs – retail workers, health care professionals, janitors, delivery drivers – live in households that can’t afford the basics and are forced to make sacrifices just to get breakfast and other meals on the table.

That is why we do what we do at the United Way of Northeast Michigan. Our mission is to help ALICE families gain financial stability and keep them from slipping into poverty over something as simple as a rising grocery bill. Because for too many families, it is not just an extra few cents per egg. It’s another crack in the fragile foundation they are trying to stand on.

When I think back to those breakfast outings with my family, I remember more than just the food. I remember the warmth of my family being together, the kindness of the wait staff who always seemed to know our orders, and the normalcy it gave us in often uncertain times.

That is what stability feels like. That is what we are fighting for — Together we can make it happen.

I encourage you to explore the data at UnitedForAlice.org/Michigan to learn more about the ALICE families in our community. Then visit www.unitedwaynemi.org to discover how you can help build a brighter, more stable future for ALICE and for all.

Joe Gentry is the executive director of the United Way of Northeast Michigan. Reach him at 989-354-2221 or jgentry@unitedwaynemi.org.