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Amid recent uncertainty and confusion from the federal government on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, the Detroit school board is calling for school policy changes to improve access to meals and snacks for Michigan students.
The board of the Detroit Public Schools Community District approved a resolution Tuesday asking the Michigan Department of Education to pursue two key adjustments to the state’s Afterschool Snack Program. The DPSCD proposal, “No Michigan Student Left Behind Hungry,” from board secretary Ida Simmons Short, aims to waive a requirement that children must eat meals on-site at school, as well as a provision where at-risk after school care programs can only be eligible if they have “organized, regularly scheduled activities.”
Simmons Short told BridgeDetroit that she wants to see the changes made so students do not need to be in an after-school program to receive a meal and are allowed to take meals home. She noted that the MDE allowed school districts a waiver during the COVID pandemic to help mitigate food insecurity for families, and she wants that to be an option again as families have experienced delays in receiving their SNAP benefits.
“I want the opportunity for Detroit Public Schools Community District to provide supper for our children, regardless of whether or not they’re in an afterschool program,” Simmons Short said. “And I would like for them to be able to take the supper home if they cannot stay at school.”
DPSCD hasn’t yet provided a response to how many students could be served under the proposed amendments.
In the resolution, Simmons Short notes that DPSCD’s breakfast, lunch, supper, and summer food programs are the district’s strongest safety nets in their efforts to combat hunger. The district’s office of nutrition serves more than 85,000 healthy meals daily through its food programs. The board member said her next step is to work with the MDE to figure out how to implement the program adjustments.
“I don’t want to keep our students in jeopardy,” Simmons Short said. “You cannot expect children to go to school hungry and try to learn anything when your stomach is growling. It’s not going to work.”
MDE spokesperson Ken Coleman said Friday that changes to the policy would have to go through the federal government, since the snack program is part of a federal food program. Coleman didn’t address whether MDE would advocate for such changes.
DPSCD’s At-Risk, After School Supper Program is tied to Michigan’s Afterschool Snack Program, which provides a low-cost or free snack after school to Michigan children in public and private schools, public school academies, and residential child care institutions. The program is part of the federally funded Child and Adult Care Food Program. CACFP offers a cash reimbursement to eligible public and private organizations for serving nutritious snacks and suppers to children and teens participating in afterschool care programs in low-income areas. In order for meals to be reimbursable, the program requires children to eat meals on-site. However, a 2017 memorandum now gives kids the option to take one vegetable, fruit, or grain item home.
The DPSCD board resolution comes as delivery of this month’s SNAP benefits was in limbo due to the federal government shutdown. President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill late Wednesday to end the record 43-day shutdown. The deal should resolve a legal fight over food assistance benefits.
Distribution of SNAP benefits in November has been chaotic, sparking court battles over the Trump administration’s position that the federal government did not have to pay those benefits during the shutdown.
Nearly 13% of Michigan households, or 1.4 million people, rely on SNAP benefits, according to MDHHS. About 43% are families with children and 36% are families with members who are older adults or disabled. And nearly 24% of people living in Wayne County get food assistance, the largest percentage of any county in the state.
Last month, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti released a statement saying that the district was working with city and community partners to provide families with food access during the shutdown. DPSCD’s 11 health hubs and family resource centers offer food pantry items, and board member Monique Bryant said she’s seen pantries at schools like Davis Aerospace Technical High School, Detroit Lions Academy, and Communication and Media Arts High School.
Simmons Short said during Tuesday’s meeting that “our children’s health and food security shouldn’t be part of the political football.”
Bryant added that she supports anything that fills gaps for families.
“Obviously, right now, with the food insecurity that many of our students could experience with their families, that (the resolution) just reaffirms our commitment as a board, that we are aware and that we are taking action,” she said.
Filling in the gaps for struggling families
In her resolution, Simmons Short referred to a report from nonprofit United Way called “The State of ALICE in Michigan.” ALICE, which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, is defined as people earning above the Federal Poverty Level but don’t make enough to afford basic expenses in the county where they live. In 2023, 41% of households in Michigan were below the ALICE Threshold, with Wayne County households sitting at 51%.
According to the ALICE Household Survival Budget, two adults with a preschooler and an infant spend $1,277 a month on food, which is higher in cost than housing and child care.
Bryant said potentially having kids take meals home will also be helpful to working parents who don’t have time to prepare dinner.
“We have done a good job as a district to already convey that we are going to have the breakfast and lunch opportunities, but with supper, I think that just takes us to another level,” she said. “We’re able to meet students and families where they are in the gaps that we don’t normally see.”
DPSCD parent Britta Shine agrees. The Detroiter has two children enrolled at Thirkell Elementary-Middle School and Sampson-Webber Leadership Academy. While her kids are only enrolled in the breakfast and lunch programs at the moment, Shine would take dinners home if they were available. As a mother of four, a trip to the grocery store can cost hundreds of dollars. And raising two children with disabilities, it can be difficult making dinner for them at times, Shine said.
“I’m buying groceries for five people and two of those people are babies,” she said. “Everything costs more now, so anytime the school wants to share their bounty as opposed to throwing it away, that’s great. Whether it’s the breakfast food, lunch food, after school snacks, giving it to the community … that’s a blessing. Everything is not going to get cheaper anytime soon.”
Shine also believes expanding the supper program would help other parents who may not have time to cook dinner because they’re tired from work or helping their children with their homework.
“It is the duty of the school system to help care for the children in the system, and if they have the resources to produce a nice meal for the kids to take home, that’s great,” she said. “I’m exhausted all the time and I’m not the only one.”
Simmons Short hopes the resolution will be duplicated in other states.
“I have a responsibility, an ethical responsibility, to do all I can to help my students at Detroit Public Schools,” Simmons Short said. “I understand there’s a chance that it might not make it, but the only cure for failure is a try.”
Micah Walker is a reporter for BridgeDetroit. You can reach her at mwalker@bridgedetroit.com.
