Three cheers! Well, actually, four cheers. Minnesota is now the fourth state in the nation to offer free-of-charge breakfasts and lunches to all students in pre-K through grade 12.
The others are California, Colorado and Maine.
After being approved by the Democrat-controlled Minnesota Legislature, with some Republicans also voting for it, Gov. Tim Walz signed the bill into law on March 10. He did in the middle of a celebratory audience at Webster Elementary School in Minneapolis. Children hugged him right after the signing.
“As a former teacher,” Walz said, “I know providing free breakfast and lunch for our students is one of the best investments we can make to lower costs, support Minnesota’s working families and care for our young learners and the future of our state.”
Yes, Walz hit the nail on the head: strengthened intelligent learners will result in a stronger future for Minnesota, this nation and this world.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, choking back a few tears, also spoke at the signing ceremony. As a child, she recalled, she had experienced food insecurity. Her mother would often pretend not be hungry just so she, Peggy, would have food to eat at home.
“As someone who grew up with a different-colored lunch ticket, I know there are too many children who go hungry at school and experience shame in the lunchroom. We are (because of this bill) removing stigma in the lunchroom, helping family pocketbooks, investing in the health and well-being of our children and ensuring no students go hungry for any reason.”
Sen. Heather Gustafson (D-Vadnais Heights), the bill’s main author, said about one in six students are food-insecure, which means they and/or their parents do not know if or when they’ll be able to eat a next meal. She noted almost 19 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-priced meals but don’t get them often because of financial instability within families or because they don’t qualify because they are just a wee bit over the poverty line to qualify.
The breakfast-lunch program starts in the next school year. Granted, it’s expensive at a projection of $200 million annually. But the money is worth it for the following reasons:
• All children will have nutritious meals, no questions asked, to give them brain-power for effective learning.
• No child of a low-income family will feel stigmatized or ashamed when in the lunch line or while eating their meals.
The Universal School Lunch Bill, as it’s known, will help free up some money for families who are so hard-strapped financially, parents attempting an increasingly worrisome balance between housing costs, paying utilities and trying to put food on the table.
Sen. Jim Abeler (R-Anoka) said it well: “Some might say it helps a few who may not need help, but actually I’m OK with that. There are a lot of pressures on a lot of families that this will take a load off of.”
Yes, it’s a good idea whose time has finally come.
