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Dave Coulter
County Executive | Oakland County, MI

ARP: Oakland County MI, Invests in Food Assistance Programs

Idea Category: Safety Net | Funding Source: American Rescue Plan

Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter announced $950,000 American Rescue Plan funds for food assistance grants to help eligible residents met their basic needs and access nutritious food. In response to rising inflation, Coulter goal is to reach any Oakland County resident struggling with food insecurity. The county will help expand the impact of existing food assistance programs and encourage residents to use the support for fresh produce at local farmers' markets. Additionally, Coulter announced that the county is partnering with the Poverty Solutions Initiative at the University of Michigan to conduct an extensive healthy food system landscape study that will examine how transportation routes affect peoples’ access to nutritious sources of food. "In the wealthiest county in Michigan, more than 11% of our children are listed as food insecure, up from 8% before the pandemic, and it’s not just in the cities with greater poverty numbers that are affected," Coulter said. "We don’t want our families to scrimp on other essentials, like rent or utilities or medicines, so they can make sure they don’t go hungry."