By AP
SAGINAW, MI – SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) - More children across the economically strapped Saginaw Bay region need free lunches this summer, but experts and volunteers say fewer outlets have the means to provide them.
Coordinator Shawn Flood of the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan's Children's Feeding Program tells The Saginaw News that larger numbers of children are showing up for free meals and snacks at about 50 sites the program serves in region.
Demand comes not only from the cities of Flint and Saginaw but also from smaller communities. In the Sanilac County city of Marlette, about 35 miles northeast of Flint, volunteers started a children's free food program June 11. Program supervisor Linda Warner says most children in the Marlette area receive free or reduced-price lunches at school.
Sanilac County has 18 percent unemployment.