How we can truly address child hunger
Connecticut is one of the wealthiest states in America. Yet there are children going hungry here every day.
Last month, after thousands of students lost access to no-cost meals from the federal government, the legislature and Gov. Ned Lamont stepped in and restarted school meals for all children.
The crushing stories from school food service directors and kids compelled Connecticut’s leaders to act and extend this program for the remainder of the school year, passing legislation with a rare bipartisan, unanimous vote.
They did the right thing. But it’s just a short-term solution. Now they must make it permanent.
Prudent fiscal management has led to a $3.1 billion budget surplus in the state. Connecticut has more than enough money to feed its children. But while the state is flush, family budgets are falling victim to high food costs and traditional — and absurdly low — federal eligibility levels for school meals.
There is a straightforward policy solution to address the problem of hungry kids: permanent free school meals for all. Before last fall, the federal government had been providing funding for free school meals for all students. It worked. It was proof that we could truly address child hunger on a 50-state scale with government intervention.
Colorado was the latest state to adopt permanent universal school meals (in addition to California, and Maine). In Vermont and Massachusetts, prioritizing school meals for all children has been a bipartisan success. Bills in those states were passed by Democratic legislatures and signed by Republican governors. Nevada has extended school meals for two years, and bipartisan leaders in each of those states are working to make it permanent. Other Democratic governors have decided to prioritize school meals for all too, including in Michigan, Minnesota and New Mexico.
This issue is common sense. Some schools, like those in New Haven, Bridgeport and Hartford, have funding to feed all their children, and they are among the poorest kids in the state.
But because federal eligibility requirements are extraordinarily low, children from middle income families across the state are being left out.
For perspective, in Connecticut, the median household income is $83,545. If you are a parent trying to provide for two children and your household is earning over $37,000 annually, your family does not qualify for free meals. These working parents get a small subsidy for school meals up to $51,400 of annual income, but that still leaves out 305,000 kids.
The cost of implementing free school meals for all would cost $90 million. That’s just a fraction of 1 percent of the state’s annual budget. That’s a small price to pay to make sure all kids have enough to eat.
Without a continued commitment, school meal debt, when schools fall behind in paying meals, will soar. This happens not because kids from the lowest income families can’t pay, but because middle-income kids can’t pay. Because school officials cannot withhold meals, they are spending vast amounts of time reaching out to families who can’t pay. This isn’t what educators should be doing, and talking won’t make those families eligible or put more money in their pockets.
Gov. Lamont and legislative leaders already know that school meals for kids is wildly popular and the bipartisan support it’s getting all over the state and the country makes sense: ensuring students are well-fed is proven to boost test scores, improve behavioral health, and reduce racial health disparities and academic achievement gaps.
Gov. Lamont spoke at a school in Meriden in June 2021 where he passionately spoke about school meals because it means “no kid gets left behind,” and he spoke eloquently about the benefits of school meals at the bill signing this week.
Gov. Lamont and legislative leaders got it right for now. But now that the fiscal guardrails are in place for 10 years, the state should similarly commit to feeding kids in school for at least the next decade and seize the opportunity to help families, teachers, and school employees create the best possible environment for our kids to learn and thrive.
Otherwise, the chaos we saw in schools over the last two months will just be repeated in September.