After September 11, 2001, Jeremy Huffman and Adam Ingrao felt compelled to act. They joined the military to serve their country. But after their service concluded they sought their next mission, which they found through agriculture and providing healthy food to their community.
“It’s not just about access to food; it’s about access to hope.” – Adam Ingrao
As farmers and healthy food advocates, they discuss how their work supports families who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and specifically the families they have worked with in Flint, Michigan, dealing with the lead crisis.
We hear first from Jeremy.
This story was recorded and produced by StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Originally posted on September 19, 2018.
Michigan Fast Facts
18%
In Michigan, 18% of children are food insecure.
15.1%
In Michigan, 15.1% of the overall population is food insecure.
SNAP Stories
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is the nation’s largest nutrition assistance program, helping feed more than 40 million Americans each month. Learn more about the critical support SNAP provides to families and individuals across the country.
New Research
SNAP benefits would decrease substantially under the House Farm Bill for some households receiving energy assistance. A new microsimulation conducted by Mathematica Policy Research finds that between 800,000 and 1.1 million households receiving SNAP benefits in 2017 would experience a $50 to $75 cut in their monthly benefit under certain provisions of the Bill.
Related
SNAP Participation Rate by State
The percentage of residents participating in SNAP ranges from 6% in Wyoming to 23% in New Mexico.
Priority Policy: SNAP
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is the nation’s largest nutrition assistance program, helping feed more than 40 million Americans each month.
Child Food Insecurity Rates by State
Child food insecurity rates range from 9.4% in North Dakota to 26.3% in Mississippi.
Stories and Expert Perspectives
Hear from experts about the impact of policies and programs in their communities, read interviews with researchers about data releases, and learn how some communities are taking action to help more children grow up healthy, including from places that have measured a decline in childhood obesity rates.