This week is the annual Week of the Young Child, a celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Around the country, educators, service providers, and policymakers are asked to focus attention on the needs and services that benefit young children and their families. Available at naeyc.org, NAEYC has created daily themes with activities parents can do at home while staying safe from COVID-19 all week.

One daily theme that stuck out to me was “Tasty Tuesday.” On this day, parents are encouraged to make a snack with their kids — following recipes uses math skills, so a double win there — and learn more about food security. Sounds fun!

The realities of food security in Michigan are not so fun, though. According to the latest data from the Kids Count in Michigan project at the Michigan League for Public Policy:

∫ Food insecurity among children is higher than it is for all people in Michigan;

∫ One in five young children (ages 0 to 5) live in poverty during the time where the brain develops the most;

∫ Food insecurity for children of all ages in the Alpena area is above the state average – 16% of kids in Alpena County and 18.5% in Alcona County are food insecure;

∫ In some rural counties, including Presque Isle County, over 20% of children of all ages are food-insecure;

∫ Not all children who are food-insecure qualify for federal nutrition programs because their family income is above the limit (about $45,000 for a family of four)

Those numbers are unacceptable and threaten the future health of our state and success of our children.

A lack of readily available, healthy food stops children from getting the right balance of calories and nutrients they need for optimal brain and body development. Plus, outside of the sustenance value of food, there is a timeless joy of families coming together to share a good meal. Strong family relationships and community are also a critical part of children’s healthy development.

As the coronavirus pandemic impacts thousands of jobs, food insecurity will surely get worse. As of last Thursday, two out of every 10 Michigan workers have applied for Unemployment Insurance since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Michigan.

The state Department of Health and Human Services is seeing a massive increase in applications for their food assistance program during this time. We applaud state leadership for making decisions to create and expand food access, including meeting daytime food needs for students as they learn remotely.

But, as families struggle to make ends meet, food security will weaken.

Unfortunately (but understandably), cutting the food budget is one of the first ways families adjust to economic hardship: you can’t pay 80% of your rent, but you can reduce what you spend on groceries. That tradeoff over time leads to poor nutrition and health. Poorer health comes with the risk of decreased work time and income and, in the worst-case scenario, less time to be with one’s children. Four of the top 10 causes of death in the U.S. are nutrition-related (heart disease, cancers, strokes and diabetes).

To address food insecurity in the long term, we must address its root causes: lack of economic security caused by low wages and high costs of living.

In 2018, there were nearly 550,000 positions paying under $10/hour in Michigan (close to the $9.25 minimum wage). Those jobs are important — some even essential. For example, occupations most likely to make below $10/hour include food preparation and service workers. Their role in our economy and food system has become even clearer during our current emergency.

At the same time, the cost of living continues to make it difficult for families to get by, particularly for low-wage earners. Nearly 30% of Michiganders spend more than a third of their income on housing costs. If someone has a low income, they are nearly twice as likely to experience this “high housing-cost burden.” Child care costs account for 34% or more of income for minimum-wage earners, and affordable child care continues to be a challenge for the whole state.

In this way, a whopping 70% or more of income for low-wage earners can go to meeting a family’s basic needs — not including food. In too many instances like these, food quality, abundance and long-term health suffer for parents and children throughout the state.

As we work to help our economy and families bounce back strong, residents and policymakers must prioritize policies that reconsider fair wages and costs of living.

It’s only in this way that we can truly ensure readily available, nutritious food and so much more for all the little ones that are counting on us.

Kelsey Perdue is Michigan Kids Count project director at the Michigan League for Public Policy.