Governor Whitmer Celebrates School Breakfast at North Muskegon Public Schools

NORTH MUSKEGON — Governor Gretchen Whitmer visited North Muskegon Public Schools on June 2 to celebrate the impact of free school breakfast and lunch for all Michigan students and to highlight the important role school meals play in helping students start their day ready to learn.

The visit focused on one of Whitmer’s major education priorities: making sure every student has access to healthy meals at school. Michigan’s free school meals program provides breakfast and lunch at no cost to public school students statewide, a program the governor’s office has said serves about 1.4 million students and saves families around $1,000 per child each year.

At North Muskegon, the celebration was hands-on. Food Service Director Dan Gorman welcomed Governor Whitmer into the kitchen and invited her to join students in making breakfast smoothies, a program that has become a popular part of the school’s breakfast service.

Twice a month, North Muskegon students help prepare smoothies for the middle school and high school. The program gives students a direct role in creating healthy breakfast options while also exposing them to Michigan-grown fruits and nutritious ingredients.

For the governor’s visit, students introduced a new recipe created in her honor: the “Big Gretch Smoothie.” The smoothie includes Michigan strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and Chobani yogurt. Governor Whitmer rolled up her sleeves, put on an apron and hat, and got right to work alongside the students. After helping prepare the smoothies, she handed out samples to students.

“It was an incredible honor to have the governor visit our school,” said Dan Gorman, Food Service Director for North Muskegon Public Schools. “It is an acknowledgment of the hard work done by our food service staff and the hard work of our students to have healthy local food in our school breakfast program.”

Gorman said free meals for all students, especially breakfast, have made a major difference at North Muskegon.

“Free meals for all, including breakfast, has been a game changer,” Gorman said. “It has made an incredible difference that all students have access to start their day the way it should be started.”

The visit brought together student leadership, local food, school nutrition, and state policy in a way that was both meaningful and fun. For North Muskegon Public Schools, the day was not just about a visit from the governor. It was a celebration of students, staff, and a school meal program that continues to grow in both participation and impact.

Dan Gorman

Food Service Director

Montague Area Public Schools