Free school meals bill introduced in WA state house
Jan 17, 2023, 10:04 AM | Updated: 10:26 am
(AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
(AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
A bill to provide free school meals to all students in Washington state who request one is being debated in Olympia.
The legislation, “,” was introduced last week by Sen. T鈥檞ina Nobles (D-Fircrest) and Rep. Marcus Riccelli (D-Spokane). It would require all schools to provide free breakfast and lunch and would define school meals as part of basic education.
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鈥淎ccess to nutritious food is a key component to the health and well-being of children,鈥� said Riccelli. 鈥淗ungry kids can鈥檛 learn, and by providing meals to any student who wants one, we鈥檙e taking an effective and meaningful step toward ensuring that children won鈥檛 go hungry in our schools.鈥�
Schools would be required to provide free breakfast and lunches to any student who requests one, which the bill’s sponsors say will help remove social stigmas around existing programs by extending the same option to all 1.1 million students equally.
State Superintendent Chris Reykdal talked last year about pushing the state legislature to create a free school meal program requesting an additional $86 million dollars a year in funding as a step towards providing universal school meals to all Washington students.
If approved, the funding will be able to provide 21.5 million more lunches and 500,000 more breakfasts to the 330,000 K-12 students that experience hunger but whose families do not qualify for food assistance under current guidelines.
The amount of students in Washington state continues to rise, from 43.31% of students in 2020 to 46.73% in 2021.
鈥淪tudent success cannot be limited by a family鈥檚 ability to afford food. To advance students鈥� chances at success, we need to make investments, especially into their most basic needs,鈥� said Nobles. 鈥淎s a mom and a former educator, I know hunger can be a barrier to education, and students can鈥檛 learn when they鈥檙e hungry. This legislation will ensure that our students鈥� attention will be on their education and not on where their next meal is coming from.鈥�
Legislators have been improving Washington鈥檚 school breakfast and lunch program over the last decade by passing Breakfast After the Bell in 2018 (), requiring more schools to participate in the USDA Community Eligibility Program (CEP) in 2020 (), and providing funding to more schools required to participate in CEP as recently as 2022 ().
