MUSKEGON, Mich. — At North Muskegon Public Schools, all students are able to eat breakfast and lunch for free, but that could change if state funding is not approved in the near future.
WATCH: Muskegon schools face uncertainty for free meal program as lawmakers debate state budget
"If state funding isn't approved by the end of September, we'll have to pivot, and we'll have to go back to a system where students get charged," said Dan Gorman, Food Service Director for North Muskegon Public Schools and Montague Area Public Schools.
Without state funding, breakfasts would cost $2.00 and lunches would cost $3.50.
"If you had two or three kids, I mean, it could be $2,000 to $3,000 a year," Gorman said.
Gorman adds 19% of children in Muskegon County live in food insecure homes.
"Of that 19%, 20% of those children don't qualify for free and reduced meals if it wasn't free meals for all," Gorman said. "And so what that tells you is it might not just be the low income housing, but it might be the cul-de-sacs where we have hungry kids."
“In North Muskegon, we have about 950 students," Gorman adds. "In Montague, we have around 1,300 students."
On average, the district serves breakfast to 60% of their students and lunch to 75% of their students.
Since the start of Free Meals for All, breakfast participation has grown 300% and lunch participation has grown 30%.
"When you build an environment where all kids have access, then it really makes a difference in the nutritional value and the nutritional safety net that school meals is," Gorman said.
Gorman believes school meals is the best dollar the government spends. So, he did a survey over the summer asking parents about the impact it would have on their homes if the district reverts to charging a fee to feed their kids.
67% of parents, according to Gorman, said it would greatly affect their budget.
"It's sad that we're looking at a kid and say, well, 'how much does your mom make?' to figure out if that person's entitled to a meal," Gorman said. "Schools are set up to build environments where we take care of kids and give them the opportunity to succeed. And school meals is a critical part of that."
