GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — For many families, the back-to-school checklist includes more than pencils and paper — new shoes, clothes and backpacks add up too. Here in West Michigan, one in three households struggle to meet basic needs, according to the Heart of West Michigan United Way.
“Families are always trying to make the best use of their budget and back to school time is the hard time, because they need to have new clothes and new school supplies and new shoes and new backpacks and new everything,” said Major Ramona Arthur from The Salvation Army in Grand Rapids.
Arthur said the Salvation Army is trying to help…