Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz gets hugs from students after signing into law a measure that guarantees free school meals at all of the state's public and charter schools.
Should all U.S. public school students be able to eat breakfast and lunch at no cost, regardless of their family’s income? The federal government temporarily made that possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, some states have taken it upon themselves to make it happen on a permanent basis. The Conversation U.S. asked Marlene B. Schwartz and Juliana Cohen, two scholars of school nutrition, to explain why this issue has become more prominent and what they expect the next presidential administration to do about it.
Should all U.S. public school students be able to eat breakfast and lunch at no cost, regardless of their family’s income? The federal government temporarily made that possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, some states have taken it upon themselves to make it happen on a permanent basis. The Conversation U.S. asked Marlene B. Schwartz and Juliana Cohen, two scholars of school nutrition, to explain why this issue has become more prominent and what they expect the next presidential administration to do about it.
The National School Lunch Program provides nutritious meals for over 28 million students each day. Students living in low-income households can receive meals for free or at a reduced price. However, there can be barriers to participating in school meals for families, including the stigma associated with receiving free meals or challenges completing school meal applications. Many families are also not eligible for free or reduced-price meals but may be struggling financially. Overall, this can lead to school meal debt if a child eats breakfast or lunch at school but the family cannot afford the cost.
In March 2020, Congress realized that more students might face food insecurity – not having consistent access to enough nutritious food – due to school closures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. So lawmakers temporarily authorized the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide school meals at no cost for all students nationwide and to give schools more flexibility in terms of how they could distribute food to families with children.
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