After the state of Michigan closed K-12 schools and limited service industry operations to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, there have been significant shifts in the ways both schools and food banks are distributing food.

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) acquired a federal waiver to operate school food distribution statewide under a provisional “unanticipated school closure” protocol. This allows MDE to use funds from the Summer Food Service Program to feed students in nontraditional ways. MDE has streamlined its summer feeding location registration to support the creation of new