This article was originally published in Michigan Advance.
Elementary school children enjoyed breakfast items, snacks and milk Wednesday morning at Waverly East School in Lansing as leaders announced a program that will provide free breakfast and lunch to children across the state — even after school is out for the summer.
American Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing), chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, led an initiative to direct federal funds toward expanding summer food access for children. While some children have had access to free food during the school year, this program will make summer meals permanent.
“We have this great opportunity for breakfast and lunch and in many cases snacks at school,” Stabenow said. “But then we get to summer, and what we’ve seen is there’s a lot less funding, less flexibility, less support for summer meals.”
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Michigan is the first state to implement the program, which is based on COVID-19 food assistance, according to Phil Knight, executive director of the Food Bank Council of Michigan.
Other states are expected to use their share of federal funds as well, but several Republican governors have rejected the aid.
“Feeding children should not be a partisan issue,” said State Superintendent Michael Rice.
Stabenow predicted the program will feed 900,000 children in Michigan this summer. The new, permanent funding is split into three different categories, so families in different situations have the flexibility to access food.
“We’ve had on-site meals for a long time, although you basically have to fight for money every year,” Stabenow said. “Every year we have to fight for summer meals, so now it’s permanent.”
The first is a “traditional summer meals” program, which serves children’s meals at a specific location and does not require an application. Another program offers “meals to go,” which are available in more rural areas. Families can pick up multiple meals at once or have food delivered.
“We’ve set up all of these flexibilities so that there are more opportunities to pick up food,” Stabenow said.
The final option is for children who attend a school that participates in the National School Lunch or Breakfast Program and receives a free or reduced-price lunch, or if the child is on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Medicaid.
“We help people where they are, not where we want them to be. And we understand this isn’t just a cost; it is also an investment,” Knight said.
Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact editor Susan J. Demas with questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and X.
