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Here's the rest of the story originally published Friday May 22, 2020 at 7 pm: LANSING, MI – As Michigan begins to slowly reopen on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Food Bank Council of Michigan projects that the increased need for emergency food will endure through 2022.

            School closures, job losses and senior quarantine have significantly increased the demand for emergency food assistance. The Food Bank Council and its network have played a key role in taking hunger off the table for thousands of Michiganders.

            “Economic recovery from this catastrophic pandemic will take time,” said Dr. Phil Knight, executive director, Food Bank Council of Michigan. “The long tail of COVID-19 will last well into 2022 and beyond.”

            Recent Michigan unemployment modeling clarifies the relationship between unemployment and levels of food insecurity. Michigan’s pre-COVID food insecurity rate was 13.6% which equates to 1.4 million residents. That rate is expected to peak at the end of June to 18.8% or 1.9 million people in Michigan. Projections show a food insecurity rate of 14.6% through the end of 2022.

            “Unemployment and food insecurity are intrinsically tied,” said Knight. “Even when life appears to return to normal for some of us, many Michiganders will still have more month than money and need emergency food.”

For more information on the Food Bank Council of Michigan’s response to COVID-19, visit https://www.fbcmich.org/covid-19/.

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Founded in 1984, the Food Bank Council of Michigan was created to implement a unified strategy to address and alleviate hunger statewide. FBCM works with its regional food banks and over 2,800 hunger relief agencies, private companies, farmers, state and federal officials, and other allies to make sure no Michigander goes without food.