Tables were assembled across the floor of a large room in Emmett Township. They were covered in children's toys, snacks and books, which were on display in a garage-sale style.
Not a single customer was perusing them.
The items not being sold were accessories to a child care program July 30. The next day, they had become leftovers.
"We're seeing that trend across all the counties that we serve," said Ella Fabel-Ryder, the executive director of Child Care Resources of Southwest Michigan, an organization that works with child care businesses in eight counties, including Calhoun County. "We've seen five centers shut down this year in Calhoun County alone," Fabel-Ryder said.
Day cares are struggling primarily because the economy is suffering and because licensing requirements are becoming more stringent, said Colleen Steinman, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Human Services.
"It's never been this bad," said Maude Perry, who has been director of Sugar & Spice Child Care Center in Battle Creek for 40 years. "We've had some downs and lows back in the '80s, but they always bounce back."
Brianna Fisher, whose children have been attending Sugar & Spice for two years, said she's heard of parents pulling their kids out because they were no longer working. And many of those who are still working are doing so sporadically.
"A lot of parents are taking part-time
This means the parents use day care fewer hours each week, and their schedules are inconsistent from week to week.
Those concerns are what led to Adventure Ark's demise. A letter from Adventure Ark's director Cindy Nottke to parents explained that the economy had caused the center to lose the business it needed to stay open.
"Unfortunately, we have lost several children due to lost jobs, moves and reduced working hours," Nottke said in the letter.
Nottke and the church's pastor declined to comment further, saying the news was too sad.
Amy Walker, the director of Snap Inc. Child Care Learning Center in Battle Creek, said the facility has been operating at half-capacity since September. Parents who lose their jobs save on child care costs by staying home with their children, she said.
"Or if a friend or relative has lost their job, then they can care for the child," Walker said.
The DHS offers a day care assistance program for low-income families that pays relatives to watch children, Steinman said. The relative does not have to be a licensed day care provider. Walker said this is hurting commercial day care facilities that still have to meet licensing requirements.
Whether parents choose to send their children to a relative's house or to a licensed center, DHS will only reimburse the parent about $3 an hour, Steinman said.
"Obviously most centers charge more than that, so the parent would have to pay the difference," Steinman said.
To make matters worse, the state government in July made a $1.6 million cut to the portion of day care it pays for, Steinman said. This means low-income parents will have to dig more money out of their pockets.
"We're trying to implement it in a way that has the least impact," Steinman said.
Ultimately, parents are just struggling to pay for day care, which has historically accounted for anywhere from 10 to 25 percent of family expenditures, Fabel-Ryder said.
In Michigan, 12.8 percent of the median annual income of a two-parent family goes toward the average cost of child care, according to a survey provided by the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies.