In the Media

Shaefer attributes low food insecurity to stimulus checks

September 10, 2021 The New York Times
Luke Shaefer, Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy

New data reveals that food insecurity stayed low during the pandemic stayed at relatively low levels, which Luke Shaefer attributes to expanded government aid. 

“We now have definitive evidence that food hardship is responsive to government aid. The effect is crystal clear," Shaefer said. “We could potentially be at the lowest level of food insecurity ever recorded, because of the government transfers."

Luke Shaefer

Faculty Expert

Luke Shaefer

Hermann and Amalie Kohn Professor of Social Justice and Social Policy; Director, Poverty Solutions; Professor of Social Work
Shaefer serves as the inaugural director of Poverty Solutions, an interdisciplinary, presidential initiative at U-M that seeks to partner communities and policymakers to find new ways to prevent and alleviate poverty.