Earlier this Fall, students and families were told that if the Michigan Legislature couldn’t pass a budget, students would have to pay for lunch.
As of October 21, AAPS head of Food Services confirmed that school lunch will remain free for the 2025- 2026 school year.
“Chartwells and AAPS are committed to ensuring school meals will continue to be available to any student who wants one.” said AAPS Director of Food Services, Michael DeVries.
On October 1st, 2025 the Michigan Legislature passed a short term budget bill. This bill extended the free lunch until October 7th. According to an official AAPS email at that time, “AAPS will begin charging for breakfast and lunch starting Wednesday, October 8, 2025.”
School officials and families struggled to understand how to plan family budgets and school lunch staffing. Many were concerned about how families would cope without the benefit.
“In a perfect world, we would be able to offer free lunch and breakfast to everybody,” said Skyline High School Principal Casey Elmore. “Just the financial situation we’re in, there’s not enough money to be able to do it.”
Although lunch is guaranteed free this school year, families are still encouraged to complete the free and reduced lunch form. Completing the form will help the school increase its government funding. The form is a part of research the legislature uses to determine the budget. It can be found on the Ann Arbor Public Schools website.
