Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at a Summer Nutrition Event

Middleville, Michigan

Thank you, Diandra, I know these things can be hard to talk about, but you are shining a light on an issue that too often stays in the dark. Riley, I hope you know how lucky you are to have such a great mom. 

Debbie, thank you for all your work to make this moment possible. You and Joe agree that no one in America should go hungry. And that’s why you’ve worked together to get this done.

I’m grateful to be joined by President Cramer and so many local and tribal leaders today. And Luke, thank you for your leadership at this wonderful camp.

I love these beautiful summer months. For teachers like me, it means no more papers left to grade.

For our students, it’s staying up way too late with no homework in sight. It’s getting your first job. Or making new camp friends.

Summer should be a time of joy and freedom, of growing and learning outside the classroom—but for too many children, their summers are stolen by hunger.

During the school year, many kids count on getting a meal from their school. But parents’ paychecks don’t get bigger just because it’s summer break. And that means hard choices and missed meals for their families.  

I’m here today because my husband, President Biden, is helping to ease the stress of higher costs for parents in Michigan and across the country.

Joe believes that parents shouldn’t have to worry about how they’ll feed their children—and we know that while grocery chains are making record profits, they’re still raising prices. That’s why the Biden-Harris Administration is fighting to lower grocery bills for families.

This summer, Joe’s Administration is giving parents whose children receive free and reduced-price lunch a little extra help to buy groceries: $120 for each of their kids.

Here in Michigan, this new SUN Bucks program will give more food to almost one million children this summer. And it will give their parents a little breathing room at the checkout counter. And I’m grateful to Governor Whitmer for choosing to make this program available to Michigan families.  

Joe’s Administration is also providing kids with meals and snacks at no cost at summer meal sites like schools and camps, including right here at Camp Manitou-Lin. 

For families living in rural communities, it may be difficult to get to those areas. So, our Administration started a Meals To-Go program that allows families in rural areas to pick up a meal or have it delivered to their home during the summer.

Kids deserve the chance to be kids. To play and learn and grow and discover their dreams at school and beyond. And every parent should be able to provide for their kids and give them the best start to the rest of their lives.

That’s why Joe works every day to make sure all children can grow and learn without wondering where their next meal will come from, so they and their families can keep reaching for the bright tomorrows ahead. 

Because Joe believes that, in America, no child should go hungry.

Together, we will make that real.

Thank you.                                                                                   

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