Amid Rising Hunger, MN Sees Renewed Calls for Universal Lunches

Walz-backed universal school lunch has support and also complications

Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility is used to determine schools’ needs, so an alternative metric would be needed if the state moves forward with universal school lunch.

Attorney general: Lunch shaming isn't legal under Minnesota law

The past two-plus years have severely stressed public health resources, emptied grocery store shelves, and strained family budgets. But our team at Hunger Solutions saw that the challenges also presented some opportunities. At the start of the pandemic, the federal government issued waivers that allowed every public school in the country to provide school meals to all students at no cost, something we had been working toward for years.

For the past two years, lunchroom debt was one of the few things Minnesotans didn’t have to worry about. Federal pandemic funding covered the cost of school meals for any student.

But those funds expired in June, and that experiment in universal school nutrition is over. Which means that for some Minnesota families and districts, back-to-school could mean back to lunchroom debt.

Federal waivers allowing schools to provide meals to all students at no cost during the height of the pandemic are expiring. Now, Minnesota is one of eight states participating in a pilot program with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to try to close the gap of students in need.

The program will certify children for free meals if their families are already receiving assistance through Medicaid— that means they will automatically be signed up with no additional paperwork.

Federal funding made it possible for all students to receive free meals during the COVID pandemic, but that ended in June.

A school lunch on average costs $3.25. For a family of four that's $150 a month.

Experts said with many still struggling from the pandemic and the rise in inflation making everything more expensive, this new pilot program couldn't have come at a better time.