School is back in session, which means busy mornings of kids getting out the door in a hurry, with a healthy breakfast and a healthy school lunch that kids will not want to trade away.

Lisa McDonald hasn't missed a week of food deliveries to marginalized community members since March 2020.

Food Gatherers will be active on meal distribution sites this summer getting healthy food into the hands of families in need.

The advertiser paid a fee to promote this sponsored article and may have influenced or authored the content. Host Tati Amare spoke with Carolyn Thomas, a Child Nutrition Consultant at the Macomb ISD about the importance of school meals. Healthy school meals are essential in improving behavior and academic performance and they’re also an important part of nutrition. A healthy school lunch includes whole grains, protein, fresh fruit, and vegetables with milk. Milk is an essential part of school meals because it contains 3 essential nutrients to help students grow to have strong, healthy bones.

Michigan officials are alarmed by the possible upcoming changes to the school lunch program that has provided food for children during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Changes to the program are raising alarm bells for some Michigan officials. Sen. Debbie Stabenow said the U.S. Department of Agriculture did a fantastic job last spring by getting food to needy children. This is going to have a very harmful effect on our children and families who are already struggling during the pandemic, Rice said. Stabenow said she hopes the changes arent linked to President Donald Trumps desire to send children back to the classroom.

In mid-March, before Michigan parents were even aware that in-person school would be suspended in response to the coronavirus pandemic, school food service professionals in districts across the state were packaging meals to send home with parents so children would not have disruption to the meals they receive in school each weekday. Michigan school districts provided 39 million meals to students between mid-March and mid-May, despite school closures. Agility on the part of school food service professionals meant children didnt go hungry during shutdown and the meals they received were of the same nutritional quality as those theyd receive in school. The meals they receive at school are sometimes the only meals they have access to, Golzynzki said. Also, school meals are a great nutritious example of how we should eat to live our lives.