1 in 8 kids goes hungry every day in Pennsylvania. In rural areas, as many as 1 in 5 kids experience hunger. If kids are hungry, they can’t learn. Universal school meals connects kids to healthy foods so they can learn and succeed.

Pennsylvania currently provides no-cost breakfast for all students in schools that participate in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs. When it comes to lunch, however, many students are left on their own.

This bill will expand the current no-cost breakfast program to include lunch. It will also eliminate existing school lunch debt so both schools and families can begin next school year with a fresh start.

In addition to reducing costs for parents, expanding school meals lowers grocery prices for everyone. Fewer meals prepared at home means fewer groceries to buy at the store. This lower demand at the store leads to lower prices. A Wharton School economist found that big chains saw grocery sales decrease by 10% in areas where students receive no-cost meals, which was enough to cut prices 2.5% at store locations throughout the entire region.

School meals are also an investment in our local economy. Expanding no-cost breakfast to include lunch supports local farmers and creates local jobs by enabling them to provide more food to schools, while giving students greater access to fresh, local food.

Students benefit when they eat local, nutritious food. School meals reduce childhood hunger; improve child nutrition and wellness; enhance child development and school readiness; support learning, attendance, and behavior; and contribute to positive mental health outcomes.

States around the country have recognized the value of investing in school meals. Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont have all stepped up to provide state funding to ensure healthy meals for all their students – and many others have proposed legislation.

This legislation was Senate Bill 180 in 2023-2024 and previously co-sponsored by Senators Kearney, Haywood, Tartaglione, Fontana, Cappelletti, Santarsiero, A.Williams, Comitta, Hughes, Costa, Collett, Dillon, Muth, Saval, Kane, Brewster, Miller, Street, and Flynn.

Please join us in co-sponsoring this legislation to ensure that every student, in every school, is given the same opportunity to grow and thrive.