大象传媒

In March 2023, when Minnesota Governor Tim Walz walked the halls of Webster Elementary, students stopped to chat with him and give him high fives. Walz was there to sign the bill into law, and the noisy excitement in the halls reflected the governor鈥檚 mood.

鈥淣o more lunch tickets,鈥� he said to a woman standing in the hallway. 

When Walz held up the signed bill in the crowded school cafeteria, the room erupted into applause as children hugged the former coach鈥檚 neck. 鈥淎s a former teacher, I know that providing free breakfast and lunch for our students is one of the best investments we can make to lower costs, support Minnesota鈥檚 working families, and care for our young learners and the future of our state,鈥� on the legislation. 鈥淭his bill puts us one step closer to making Minnesota the best state for kids to grow up, and I am grateful to all of the legislators and advocates for making it happen.鈥�

The law reimbursed public school districts, charter schools, and non-public schools for meals purchased through the National School Lunch and the School Breakfast Programs. The state-funded Free School Meals for Kids program also provides reimbursement for meals served to students who do not qualify for free or reduced-price meals so all students receive the meals at no cost. The program is estimated to over a two-year budget period.

鈥淏ased on the latest data from the Department of Education, lunch participation was up about 19 percent and breakfast participation was up 41 percent,鈥� says Sophia Lenarz-Coy, executive director of the Food Group, which is focused on increasing access to healthy, locally grown food in Minnesota. 鈥淲e can see that students are just better prepared. They鈥檙e better able to learn and focus.鈥�

Minnesota could be setting the framework for adoption on the federal level. In 2023, Rep. Ilhan Omar, who also represents Minnesota, Rep. Adam Schiff, and Rep. Jahana Hayes introduced the . The law would provide students with free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack each day, without needing to prove eligibility.

It would also raise , the amount of money the federal government provides to states for lunches, afterschool snacks, and breakfasts served to children participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs. The bill would also increase the national average payment for free lunch from $4.01 to $4.63 and include additional payments to schools using locally sourced food.

鈥淢innesota has a long history of good coalition work around food,鈥� says Lenarz-Coy. 鈥淲hen we look at what got us to universal school meals in Minnesota, [the health sector] was involved, food producers were involved, public health was involved, education advocates were involved, and anti-hunger advocates were involved. It really was a coalition.鈥�

It is going to require that level of coalition-building to bring Minnesota鈥檚 approach to universal school meals to the national level. But now, with a Republican president-elect and a Republican majority in the Senate and the House, Project 2025 is a real possibility.

With its implementation comes the removal of many protections provided to school children across the country, including calling for an end to the community eligibility program (CEP), which, beginning in the 2014-2015 school year, allowed high-needs schools to begin providing free lunch to all their students and receiving reimbursement based on the percentage of students eligible for those meals. Schools are designated as high needs if a significant percentage of its student population qualifies for free or reduced-price meals.

The Food Group notes Project 2025 and similar proposals do not acknowledge or the need of many students who are above the CEP free or reduced-price eligibility threshold but are still unable to afford school meals. Since Barack Obama signed the into law in 2010, which aided the creation of the CEP, children in the U.S. have at school, and breakfast participation has increased by nearly 25 percent.

While feeding all children in schools is an expensive endeavor, Lenarz-Coy says it鈥檚 an essential element of education that shouldn鈥檛 be overlooked. In July, Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) compiled studies showing the value of free school meals for all children, including improved physical and emotional health among students, increased attendance rates, improved test scores among marginalized student groups, and reduced discipline infractions.

鈥淸In Minnesota], we鈥檝e made sure to continue talking to school nutrition associations about how we can keep improving the quality of the lunch along with getting lunch to everybody,鈥� says Lenarz-Coy. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not an easy lift, so the key is to have champions. [You need] several stars to align. Having a champion in the governor鈥檚 office was really important to getting a policy this big over the line.鈥�

Hunger Is a Health Problem

Healthy meals for the nation鈥檚 children is not a new concept.

In 1946, to low-income students. The Child Nutrition Act of 1966 then condensed control of the school lunch program from several government agencies to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), established the School Breakfast Program, and authorized the Special Milk Program, which provides milk free of charge or at a reduced cost to children in schools who do not participate in other child nutrition programs.

The USDA piloted the Child Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) in 1968 to provide food and resources for local sponsors who want to combine a feeding program with a summer activity program. In response to reports of hungry children, out of churches and community centers, eventually expanding to 36 cities across the United States by 1971.

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, supplying school meals became an even more urgent priority. In 2020, Congress passed the , which gave the USDA authority to issue nationwide waivers making meals free for all students in participating school districts. More than 5 million children were served during the summer of 2020, nearly double the number of children who received meals through the program in each of the five previous summers. The move led to a record drop in food insecurity among families with children, from nearly 12 million in 2020 to 9 million in 2021.

鈥淚t was a huge success,鈥� says Crystal FitzSimons, interim president of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), an organization that aims to improve the nutrition, health, and well-being of people facing food insecurity in the United States. 鈥淪chools loved it, parents loved it, kids loved it.鈥�

Though the program ended on June 30, 2022, when Congress failed to extend the waiver, at least eight states, including California, Colorado, Michigan, and New Mexico, have now passed legislation to provide free school meals to students.

Other bills such as the , the , and the would expand free meals to students, an idea the majority of people in the U.S. support. A found that 63 percent of voters nationwide support legislation that would provide free meals to students.

Free Food Without Shame

Despite this widespread support, Project 2025 suggests , which it refers to as a 鈥渕ajor welfare agency鈥� and removing references to 鈥渆quity鈥� and 鈥渃limate smart鈥� in the USDA鈥檚 mission statement. Besides the devastating overall effects of this move, conflating free meal programs with welfare discourages students from participating in free meal programs.

This framing continues the stigmatizing of free school meals as 鈥渨elfare鈥� that began during . In a 2023 interview on , Jennifer Gaddis, Ph.D., an associate professor of civil society and community studies at the University of Wisconsin鈥揗adison, said that before the pandemic, 30 million children participated in the school lunch program on a daily basis. However, about 20 million more had access to the program but chose not to participate, partially because of the stigma.

鈥淚 think shame [was a reason people didn鈥檛 participate],鈥� Gaddis said. 鈥淎nd just the stigma of this being like a government handout versus something that you expect to be part of the school day.鈥�

Universal school lunch eliminates the visibility of who is receiving assistance. Consequently, more students are likely to participate in the lunch program. When students feel comfortable participating, they are more likely to consume healthy nutritious meals, which can positively affect their health and academic performance. Eliminating the negative connotation associated with school lunch also fosters a more inclusive learning environment and a decrease in disciplinary actions, while also alleviating stress on families that may already be resource-strapped.

鈥淔amilies are struggling with increased food costs and housing costs,鈥� FitzSimons says. 鈥淸Universal school meals] reduce the household food budget and make it easier for families to make ends meet. It鈥檚 much easier when [parents] don鈥檛 have to worry about making sure their kids have lunch, and it helps ensure that students have access to the nutrition they need so that they don鈥檛 show up in class hungry or get hungry in the afternoon.鈥�

When the School Doors Close

As the push for free healthy school meals increases, so does the discussion about how the U.S. can reduce child hunger once the last school bell rings. Since the Families First Coronavirus Response Act expired, the number of children living in hunger has increased. Today, in the United States.

Some schools currently supplement school-day breakfast and lunch with weekend meals for students with an identified need, while other families are reliant on care food programs offered through local organizations. 鈥淚f there is a weekend program, like at a rec center, a YMCA, or a Boys and Girls Club, they can serve meals through the child and adult care food program,鈥� FitzSimons says. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 reach as many kids, obviously, as school meals.鈥�

But this isn鈥檛 a new problem, though there are old solutions: In 1995, a school nurse, who has remained unnamed, in Little Rock, Arkansas, observed that many of the students she treated for illness or fatigue were hungry because they did not have enough to eat at home. So she created a backpack meal program, where she partnered with a local food bank to provide bags with food for students to take home over the weekend.

Over time, programs such as Feeding America鈥檚 BackPack Program, Blessings in a Backpack, and Operation Backpack have cropped up in schools and districts all across the country. benefit from food backpack programs on any given weekend.聽

The BackPack Program works with food banks and schools to provide healthy, easy-to-prepare food for weekends and school breaks. The program feeds more than 450,000 children each week by sending backpacks of groceries home with students. A study of the program in Urbana, Illinois, found that meals provided to families beyond the school day . Thirteen percent of families surveyed moved from 鈥渓ow food insecure鈥� to 鈥渇ood secure鈥� between October and December, and schools reported , school attendance, literacy and math test scores, and interest in school.

If we want to bring universal school meals to all children, regardless of income, it鈥檚 going to take a combination of imagination, tolerance for criticism, and a shift in how we consider this issue. 鈥淥n test days, schools feed all kids well. Every day is a good day to do well in school,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e really trying to make the case that in the same way we cover books and other things about school, we should make sure all kids going to public schools are fed.鈥�