Allocating Funds for School Meals for All and the 10 Cents A Meal Local Food Purchasing Incentive Program

S.B. 173 is a general school budget bill that allocates $160 million for a free school breakfast and lunch program for all students in school year 2023-24 (section 30d) and $16.9 million to reimburse eligible school districts for free breakfast programs during school year 2023-2024 (31f). Section 31f directs districts receiving breakfast funds to give preference to food that is grown or produced by Michigan businesses if it is competitively priced and of comparable quality.

The bill also provides $9.3 million for the state’s 10 Cents a Meal local food purchasing incentive fund. This program reimburses school districts and other non-school sponsors, including child care centers, up to 10 cents a meal for procuring Michigan-grown products. Per existing law, applicants are awarded preference based in part on their ability to procure and prepare Michigan-grown products, their plans for farm to school educational activities, and the number of children qualifying for free or reduced-price meals. H.B. 4286 / S.B. 304 (2023), S.B. 500 (2023), and H.B. 5042 (2023) are related preliminary bills from this session.