LANSING, Mich. – A bipartisan education budget signed by the Michigan governor last week aims to help families facing food insecurity by providing funding for free breakfast and lunches at public schools.
Beginning this year, all Michigan public school students in grades pre-K through 12 will have access to free breakfast and free lunches every day. The latest education budget for fiscal year 2024, which was approved by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on July 20, allocates $160 million to provide the meals to the state’s 1.4 million public school students.
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The budget requires public school districts to participate in the federal school breakfast program, and says the meals must adhere to federal standards. Such standards help make sure children receive healthier, more balanced meals.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, students who eat breakfast provided by their school are getting a “breakfast of higher nutritional quality than students who eat breakfast elsewhere.”
By ensuring children have access to free breakfast and lunches at their school, the plan could help reduce food insecurity for families throughout the state. In Michigan, one in eight children face hunger, according to Feeding America -- that’s more than 282,000 children.
The plan isn’t only expected to benefit 1.4 million public school children, it’s also expected to benefit the state’s economy. The budget requires school districts to “give preference to food that is grown or produced by Michigan businesses if it is competitively priced and of comparable quality” when buying food for their breakfast program.
Tim Boring, director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, called the farm-to-school meal plan a “win-win for all,” saying the process “creates new markets for our farmers.”
“Nutrition is the building block for student success and the first step begins with agriculture,” Boring said. “Increasing access to locally grown and processed foods provides Michigan’s students with delicious food grown right here at home from apples to milk to carrots and beef, our farmers offer a cornucopia of items to add to school menus.”
The budget allocates hundreds of millions of dollars for a number of programs and investments in Michigan schools. State officials say the budget includes the “highest state per-student investment in Michigan history,” and also “takes the first step toward free pre-K for all 4-year-olds.”
You can read the budget in full below.
Click here to learn more about the federal school breakfast program from the USDA.