Minnesota House passes free meals for all students

The Minnesota House voted 70-58 along party lines Thursday to spend around $200 million a year making school breakfasts and lunches available to all students at no cost.

Debate over universal school meals has inverted the usual partisan talking points, with Republicans in this case railing against what they call a taxpayer-funded giveaway to the rich.

More than one-third of Minnesota public school students already get free school meals because of their low family income or high poverty rates in their schools. The DFL-led legislation would offer free meals, regardless of income, to every student at schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program, including private schools.

“Why are we feeding kids in Edina or rich areas that do not need this extra funding? We are pushing tax dollars where they are not needed,” said Rep. Pam Altendorf, R-Red Wing.

Republican lawmakers tried but failed to amend the bill Thursday by somewhat expanding eligibility for free school meals – to 250 percent of the federal poverty level, up from 185 percent – without making them free for all students.

“We do need to feed our children, but we have to do this in a reasonable, fiscally responsible way,” said Rep. Krista Knudsen, R-Lake Shore.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Sydney Jordan, DFL-Minneapolis, said one-quarter of hungry kids in Minnesota don’t qualify for free school meals under the federal income guidelines. She waved off concerns about funding meals for families that can afford to pay.

“We give every kid in our school a desk. There are lots of kids out there that can afford to buy a desk, but they get a desk because they go to school,” she said.

One hangup for school leaders is the impact that universal school meals might have on the collection of meal-subsidy application forms, which determine how much extra money schools get for a variety of programs.

“I’ve had countless conversations with my administrative colleagues, and they don’t want this,” said Rep. Ben Bakeberg, R-Jordan, a middle school principal.

Another bill, which was introduced Thursday, aims to address that concern by replacing those forms with other methods of assessing concentrations of poverty.

“This is something that we’re very much aware of and working with right now,” said Rep. Laurie Pryor, DFL-Minnetonka.

Congress provided free school meals to all students for two school years during the coronavirus pandemic, but that funding stopped last year. Five states are picking up the food bill for their students this school year, and two of them are doing so permanently; a third, Colorado, will join them next year after voters approved a ballot measure.

Gov. Tim Walz supports making Minnesota the fourth state to permanently provide universal school meals. A companion bill awaits action by the finance committee in the DFL-controlled Senate, where the sponsors include Assistant Minority Leader Zach Duckworth, R-Lakeville. Related Articles Education | U.S. Rep. Angie Craig fends off assault in elevator of her D.C. apartment building

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