Multiple districts — A year into the state’s universal free meals program, local food-service directors are seeing big increases in the number of students eating school breakfast and lunch.
As a result, districts are renovating school kitchens, adding staff members, zeroing in on production efficiencies and getting creative with menus.
The Michigan School Meals Program, implemented at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, assures all breakfasts and lunches served to Michigan’s 1.4 million public-school students in grades Pre-K to 12 are free. The state’s newly passed education budget for next school year includes $200 million in funding for the program to continue.
School meals in Michigan are funded through federal reimbursements for meals served and a combination of payments from the State of Michigan.
Melissa Alley, food service director for Sparta Area Schools and Comstock Park Public Schools, said the number of meals served rose significantly after the program went into effect.
“The free meals have had a huge impact at both Sparta and Comstock Park, especially for families who were on the verge of qualifying for reduced lunch in the past, but were at that threshold where they didn’t quite make it,” Alley said.
According to a press release from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Office, Michigan schools served about 76.3 million breakfasts and 135.6 million lunches to students throughout the 2023-24 school year.
‘The accessibility to food should never be a concern to students or families, no matter the geographical location or demographics of the district you are serving.’
— Dan Zehr, KPS director of child nutrition services
Breakfast and Lunch for All
Prior to the free meal program, Alley said around 35-40% of students at Sparta, and approximately 50-60% of those at Comstock Park, qualified for free or reduced meals. In the 2023-24 school year, around 80% of Sparta students and 90% of Comstock Park students made use of universal free breakfast and lunch. Alley suspects this indicates the number of students who didn’t quite qualify for free or reduced-cost meals is sizable.
“At Sparta we have served 26,398 more breakfasts this year and 66,244 more lunches this school year,” said Alley, an employee of Chartwells, which contracts with school districts to meet food service needs. “At Comstock Park we served 20,456 more breakfasts and 27,927 more lunches.”
Other districts experienced increases too. For example:
- Byron Center Public Schools served approximately 64,000 breakfasts and 362,000 lunches in 2022-23, compared to 150,000 breakfasts and 497,000 lunches in 2023-24. The district had a free and reduced lunch rate of about 21% before the program began, according to mischooldata.org
- Kentwood Public Schools served between 10,000 and 12,00 meals per day between breakfast, lunch and the afterschool ARCH program last school year. The district had a free and reduced lunch rate of about 74% before the program began, according to mischooldata.org.
Kentwood Public Schools began piloting free meals for all in 2022-23.
Last August, Gov. Whitmer visited a Kentwood elementary school to celebrate the program.
“From the 2021-22 school year to the 2022-23 school year we saw a huge increase in breakfast and lunch numbers,” said Dan Zehr, KPS director of child nutrition services.
For overall district participation, KPS saw a 102% increase in breakfast and a 125% increase in lunch, said Zehr.
“The accessibility to food should never be a concern to students or families, no matter the geographical location or demographics of the district you are serving,” he said. “I think it’s an amazing thing we have going at Kentwood and I am super thrilled to be a part of it — making sure we are providing nutritious accessible food to all of our students.”
According to the press release from Gov. Whitmer’s office, free school meals save parents $850 per year per kid and valuable time every morning.
“When students are fed, they can focus better in class. Let’s keep working together to feed our kids and ensure every family has the support they need to thrive,” Whitmer said in the release.
Renovations and Additions
Feeding more students has led to investments in food service and cafeterias, directors say.
With the help of additional funding from the state, and a higher reimbursement rate for food purchases, both Sparta and Comstock Park have renovated kitchen spaces and updated menus.
“With more students eating, and having more funds available, we wanted to use that to update our serving areas and menu options,” said Alley.
Sparta updated the kitchen equipment at Ridgeview Elementary, adding a walk-in freezer and cooler. Alley said the renovation allows more meals to be cooked onsite and increases fresh food options. A larger fruit and vegetable bar was also purchased at Ridgeview, while a new combination oven was bought for the high school, and reusable lunch trays were purchased for the middle school. More updates are coming to the serving areas at both Sparta High and Appleview Elementary.
“As for food, we have increased our fresh produce and local purchasing significantly,” Alley said. “We have opened up our deli line at Sparta Middle School with fresh-baked sub buns daily and build-your-own subs and wraps, which have been a huge success.”
Comstock Park saw the arrival of new milk coolers and updates to the serving line at Mill Creek Middle School, among other improvements.
In Kentwood, the district has renovated its school kitchens — with three still to be completed — into full production kitchens, reducing the need for satellite kitchens. That means everything is cooked onsite, Zehr said.
“By doing so we’ve really increased the quality and availability of food for our students. We don’t have to ship from school to school,” Zehr said.
The increase in meals and students served has also meant more hours on the job for food-service staff at Comstock Park and Sparta. Sparta added a fifth person to its middle school crew, Alley said.
Byron Center, too, has added staffing, said Byron Center Public Schools Nutrition Services Director Vince Sturgis.
“In the past, we had one employee for breakfast at each building,” Sturgis said. “We now have two to three staff members in the morning at each elementary school. That’s a huge increase because our time is limited and with more meals, there is more prep involved and more students to feed.”
The district is opening a fourth elementary school, Heritage Elementary, in August.
“I purposely overstaffed elementary schools, so when Heritage opens, the current staff will be rearranged to fill all four buildings.”
Zehr, at Kentwood, said the district has added some staff but is focused more on maximizing efficiencies through proper equipment, keeping food hot or cold, serving lines, storage and training.
“Our goal is to move more toward a speed scratch (combining pre-made ingredients with those made from scratch) and even in some cases full-scratch cooking,” he said.
Full Bellies, Happy Kids
Sturgis, known in Byron as “Mr. Carrot”, is passionate about feeding children.
“Kids have to eat, period,” he said, noting the intangible results of students eating regular meals. “Teachers don’t have to worry about their students being fed. (Students) are not sleeping in class. They have more energy and that’s reflective of our great school district.”
Along with nutrition, Sturgis has also seen a shift socially because all students get meals free.
“When breakfast was paid, we knew who (the free and reduced lunch) students were. They came faithfully every day,” Sturgis said. “When everything went to free meals, our numbers went through the roof. … It puts everyone at the same level in BC, mentally and financially.”
The district offers many popular items in its cafeterias, from hot and cold options and grab-and-go items at the elementary level to college campus-style offerings like a fancy coffee station at Byron Center High School.
“The kids go bananas for the fresh-baked, big cinnamon rolls. … The small things mean a lot; the small things are important. When you build trust, they keep coming back,” Sturgis said. “This was the first year we started introducing more protein options for breakfast (more egg options, sausage and bacon). We plan to roll that out more next year.”
Sturgis also focuses on fresh and healthy options by tapping into nearby food resources.
“We’re partnering with more local vendors for students to eat more fresh foods. They know and trust where it’s coming from. (Food) is coming from two miles away instead of states away. It hits different.”
Reporters Riley Kelley and Alexis Stark contributed to this story.
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• Food directors honored for enhancing school meals, student choices
