Letters to the Editor: Support for School Meals for All

If School Meals for All legislation is enacted, it will require all schools in Massachusetts to make available school breakfast and lunch to all students at no charge to the student or their family. 

With the hearing scheduled on January 4, 2022, the Feed Kids Campaign's bill for School Meals for All heads for a critical moment. Here is a roundup of recent Letters to the Editors published across the state urging support for this bill. 
 

As a professional in the anti-hunger space, I can attest to the importance of this vital resource for struggling families who now face an extreme benefit “cliff” when federal waivers enabling schools to serve meals to all students dissolve at the end of the 2021-22 school year.

According to Children’s HealthWatch, food insecurity costs Massachusetts $2.4 billion every year. But we know one thing that works: School Meals for All. School meals are one of the most powerful tools for ending food insecurity among children.

California and Maine have shown us what is possible in the fight against childhood food insecurity. School Meals for All would be a game-changer for our state. We need our Massachusetts Representatives and Senators to pass H.714/S.714: An Act Relative to Universal School Meals during this legislative session. Hungry children can’t wait.

For the past year and a half, thousands more Massachusetts youth have had free breakfast and lunch at schools statewide. As a professional in the anti-hunger space, I can attest to the importance of this vital resource for struggling families who now face an extreme benefit “cliff” when federal waivers enabling schools to serve meals to all students dissolve at the end of the 2021-2022 school year.

Food insecurity is often underreported here on the Cape. A family may make an income that does not qualify them for free or reduced meals in school. With the high cost of housing, utilities and more, they may well be food insecure. Please take a moment to support this effort for all our kids.

Allowing all students to receive free school meals will end the stigma around students’ economic status and ensure all youth are hunger-free and ready to learn. Providing school meals is a proven way to increase students’ attendance, improve behavior and academic achievement, reduce tardiness, and set our state on the path to ending childhood hunger.