Michigan school meals in jeopardy without state school aid budget in place

DETROIT — Uncertainty in the state budget for school funding is causing Michigan education officials to sound the alarm that school meals, which feed the state's 1.4 million school children, could be in jeopardy this fall.

Okemos Public Schools announced it will be charging for previously free school meals due to a delay in state funding for the 2025-26 school year, which begins Wednesday in the Ingham County district.

"For the past two years, all Michigan students could receive free meals thanks to a state-funded program. However, Okemos Public Schools will need to charge for student meals at least during the start of the 2025–26 school year due to a delay in state funding," Brian Kremkow, the district's food service director, wrote in an email to families. "Michigan lawmakers have not yet adopted a 2025–26 school budget, so that guaranteed funding is not currently available."

Kremkow said while some area school districts will continue to offer free meals to all students due to differences in community income levels that determine eligibility for additional meal program funding, Okemos does not qualify for this support.

"Please know the administration will review funding options and may revisit pricing after the school year begins and we have budget information from the state," Kremkow said.

In an Aug. 7 memo from state Superintendent Michael Rice to all school districts about school meals, the Michigan Department of Education "strongly recommended" that all districts offer free meals through Sept. 30, the date through which a state program called Michigan School Meals (MSM) and federal funding, associated with the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) runs.

The MSM program offers free breakfast and lunch to all public school students in grades preschool-12th grade, regardless of their family's income. It is considered a universal free meal program.

"The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) understands that as the 2025-26 school year begins, without a fiscal year 2026 state school aid budget passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor, districts are faced with uncertainty about their school meal programs," Rice wrote in the memo.

"MDE strongly recommends that local districts offer free meals at the beginning of this school year to take advantage of the student health, attendance, and performance benefits of school meals," Rice wrote. "MDE wishes to caution districts from making too quick a decision regarding CEP or MSM participation, as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has made clear that CEP changes cannot be reversed within the same school year."

Many Michigan districts are informing families of potential changes and encouraging them to complete benefit applications for school meals to ensure continued eligibility.

A social media post from Chippewa Hills High School, in west Michigan's Mecosta County, asks parents to be prepared for a cutoff in funding.

"...there is a possibility that school meals may no longer be free for everyone," the post says. "To prepare for any outcome, we’re asking ALL Warrior families to complete the Child Nutrition and Education Benefit Application. This quick, confidential form helps determine if your child qualifies for free or reduced-priced meals. It also ensures our school receives important state and federal funding tied to this application."

In October 2024, the MSM program served 10,905,552 breakfasts and 19,192,737 lunches to students in Michigan.

The number of Michigan public school students eating breakfast at school in the 2023-24 school year increased 26% while the number eating lunch jumped 20%, according to the state education department. The increase came in the first year that Michigan offered universally free breakfast and lunch to all of its public school students.

During the 2023-24 school year, Michigan schools ordered more than 8 million cases of food from Gordon Food Service, an increase from the 6.9 million cases ordered in 2022-23. At the time, Michigan was one of only eight states with a statewide free meal program. The others were California, Colorado, New Mexico, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Vermont.

The federal government made school meals available free during the pandemic to all public school students, regardless of family income level, in a program that ended in 2022. The following year, Michigan rolled out a similar $160 million per year program to keep all its public school children fed.

The universal free school meals was "a game-changer for kids, families and schools" when it rolled out in 2023, said Crystal FitzSimons, director of School and Out-of-School Programs at the Food Research and Action Center, based in Washington, D.C. In Michigan, the program provided all students with free meals at school.

Michigan House Democrats estimate the loss of free school meals will cost participating families nearly $1,000 per year. The Democrats are accusing Republicans, and House Speaker Matt Hall, of neglecting the state's families.

“While MAGA Matt Hall refuses to do his job, Michigan parents, students, and schools from Midland to Detroit to Marquette are being held hostage as they wonder if they’ll be able to provide free school breakfast and lunch,” said Curtis Hertel, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, in a statement. “Already, federal Republicans are gutting education funding, but now, Hall and the rest of the Republicans in Lansing are following their lead as they fail to fund Michigan schools and refuse to come to the table to pass a budget."

Under the House Republican plan, the money that would usually be earmarked for state-subsidized school breakfast and lunch would be shifted to the per-pupil allowance. Hall argued Wednesday that the funding shift gave schools more flexibility to use the money as they see fit, be it for school meals, buses or tutoring services.

“We trust those districts to take the money and to know what to do with it,” Hall said. “And most of them will spend it on free lunch or free breakfast and things like that.”

Both the Senate and House have passed their own education budgets but the chambers have been unable to come to a compromise to send to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Michigan's Constitution requires a balanced budget by Oct. 1, or a government shutdown could interrupt state services and potentially affect aid payments to schools.

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—Beth LeBlanc contributed.

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