ST. PAUL – Thursday, the Minnesota House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation that would ensure all children receive a hot school lunch, regardless of their ability to pay.
The bill covers the forty-cent disparity between free lunches and reduced-price lunches. It also prohibits a district from charging a lunch fee to a student who is eligible for a free or reduced-price lunch.
A Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid report last month detailed the extent to which Minnesota school districts turn away kids who cannot afford lunch. The vast majority of the population of kids who are affected by this policy are those receiving reduced-price lunches.
Of the 306 districts that responded to the group’s questions (94 percent of districts statewide), 46 reported a policy of immediate or eventual denial to serve hot lunch or an alternative meal to a child who cannot pay. One hundred sixty-five of the districts offer a less nutritious alternative meal instead of turning the child away.
According to Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid, by expanding free lunch to all reduced-price eligible children, the bill will guarantee a nutritious hot lunch to an additional 61,000 Minnesota children statewide.
“This is a good solution for a problem with no villains,” said Rep. Dan Schoen (DFL-St. Paul Park). “The kids certainly shouldn’t be punished for circumstances out of their control. Their parents are obviously struggling, and sometimes, when you’re living paycheck to paycheck, small bills like those for school lunches can get overlooked. And school administrations were put in a thankless position by their bottom line. No more.”
The federal government provides the majority of funding for school lunches; $2.93 for free meals, $2.53 for reduced-price meals, and $0.28 for fully-paid school lunches. Minnesota adds 12.5 cents to this funding for all three lunches. However, the 40-cent gap between free lunches and reduced-price lunches has resulted in alarming instances of kids being turned away when they can’t pay or being given a less nutritious alternative lunch.