New report says Northeast Michigan leads other regions in needing food interventions

ALPENA, Mich. — A new report from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund says Northeast Michigan is one of the leading areas in the state when it comes to food insecurities.

According to the report many people in the region need food but current interventions are not always successful in addressing the problem.

Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyles Program Director, Laurie Solotorow said the challenge in many instances is one of logistics.

“Sometimes it can be just a transportation issue or sometimes it can be a safety issue with the older adults in our state,” said Solotorow.  So it’s not necessarily always that the resources are lacking but that it’s very challenging for families to get where the resources are,” she said.

The report found that two counties – Montmorency and Oscoda had high need but significantly low numbers of food interventions.  The Alcona County Commission on Aging is one of the leading distributers of food in the area – distributing more than 1,300 boxes of food per week.

Solotorow says going forward the Michigan Health Endowment Fund is looking to support nontraditional partners like clinics, churches and schools to address the existing logistical challenges.