Some Michigan students accustomed to eating breakfast and lunch for free woke up to a sudden change in the menu after the governor and state lawmakers failed to approve a state budget for the fiscal year that began Wednesday, Oct. 1, instead passing a short-term spending plan to avert a state government shutdown for at least a week.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2023 approved a budget that set aside funding for universal school meals for all Michigan public school students. While a Sept. 30 statement from Whitmer and legislative leaders said the new budget lawmakers are crafting will secure free breakfast and lunch, the delay left school districts without those funds explicitly included in the temporary continuation budget.

School districts have responded with different approaches, with som

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