School districts in the wealthiest areas of Michigan have disproportionately benefited from the state’s free school lunch program, a Detroit News analysis of state records found.
The News’ analysis shows that about 29% of the money for school lunches provided by the state last year went to the 30 districts that serve the areas with the highest median household incomes. Those same districts taught about 13% of the state’s students, data show.
Here are the 30 school districts serving wealthier areas of Michigan and the amount of state tax dollars they received in the 2025 fiscal year to make lunch free for all students, regardless of household income:
∎ Northville Public Schools ($169,000 median household income), $2.5 million for free lunches
∎ Bloomfield Hills School District ($168,000), $1.4 million
∎ East Grand Rapids Public School District ($168,000), $716,000
∎ Birmingham City School District ($160,000), $2 million
∎ Forest Hills Public Schools ($135,000), $3 million
∎ Dexter Community School District ($134,000), $1.2 million
∎ Grosse Pointe Public Schools ($130,000), $1 million
∎ Rochester Community School District ($130,000), $4.4 million
∎ Troy School District ($127,000), $3.75 million
∎ Grosse Ile Township Schools ($127,000), $440,000
∎ Plymouth-Canton Community Schools ($124,000), $3.5 million
∎ Saline Area Schools ($123,000), $1.5 million
∎ Novi Community School District ($122,000), $2.7 million
∎ Rockford Public Schools ($121,000), $2.2 million
∎ Lake Orion Community Schools ($120,000), $1.9 million
∎ Northport Public School District ($118,000), $6,000
∎ West Bloomfield School District ($118,000), $1.2 million
∎ Brighton Area Schools ($118,000), $2 million
∎ DeWitt Public Schools ($116,000), $856,000
∎ Clarkston Community School District ($115,000), $1.7 million
∎ Schoolcraft Community Schools ($114,000), $353,000
∎ Mattawan Consolidated School District ($114,000), $981,000
∎ Berkley School District ($113,000), $845,000
∎ Caledonia Community Schools ($112,000), $1.7 million
∎ Hartland Consolidated Schools ($112,000), $1.5 million
∎ Oxford Area Community Schools ($112,000), $1.5 million
∎ Farmington Public School District ($107,000), $1.9 million
∎ Goodrich Area Schools ($107,000), $748,000
∎ Ida Public School District ($106,000), $539,000
School districts where the majority of students live below the poverty line don’t benefit from the state-funded free lunch program. They get their funding to provide free lunches to students from the federal government.
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cmauger@detroitnews.com
bwarren@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: These 30 wealthy school districts got most state funds for free lunch
Reporting by Craig Mauger and Ben Warren, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
