By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-951369.mp3
LANSING, MI –
Many college students in Michigan will be kicked off of the Bridge card food assistance program this April. The state Department of Human Services will follow federal guidelines about which students are eligible for food assistance.
AUDIO:
Michigan Department of Human Services Director Maura Corrigan says serious abuse of the food assistance program among college students is a relatively new problem. She thinks part of it comes from moving from food stamps to the debit-card-like Bridge card.
"I think that there has been a cultural change for us in that there is less stigma associated with it," she says.
The department estimates that about 25,000 college students use the Bridge card program, and more than half of them could be abusing the food assistance according to federal guidelines. People who will still qualify for food assistance include students with young children.