Health Experts Call for School Meals Legislation

On Tuesday, July 13, Project Bread, together with the Feed Kids Coalition, Senator Sal DiDomenico, Represenative Andres Vargas brought together advocates and health care providers,  featuring health care experts from Blue Cross Blue Shield, MassGeneral Hospital for Children, and the American Heart Association on the impact of School Meals for All legislation on child health.

• Erin McAleer, President and CEO, Project Bread
• Senator Sal DiDomenico and Representative Andy Vargas, School Meals for All bill sponsors
• Dr. Awab Ali Ibrahim, Pediatric Gastroenterologist, MassGeneral Hospital for Children
• Elana Margolis, Senior Director of Government & Regulatory Affairs, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
• Allyson Perron, Government Relations Director, American Heart Association
• And panel moderator Kathryn Audette, a Project Bread Board Member and social worker

School meals can account for half of a child’s daily required nutrition and are a first line of defense against diet-related disease and poor health outcomes. To end childhood hunger in our state, we must enact School Meals For All, which would allow every student who wants or needs a school breakfast or lunch to receive it – at no cost to their family and with no requirement to sign up or provide income or other information. If passed, an estimated 50,000 students would have better access to school meals.

With 1 in 5 families suffering from food insecurity in the Commonwealth, the stakes are high, and the opportunity School Meals for All offers is significant.