Free School Meals Nourish Kids and Communities

The past two-plus years have 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. Unsurprisingly, free school meals make a difference, and we have firsthand evidence of the benefits to students, families, schools, and communities. Unfortunately, the federal aid ended in June, and despite support from the governor’s office and the Minnesota House of Representatives, funding for school meals was not approved during the 2022 spring legislative session. As inflation and the cost of living continue to rise, many families will send their students back to the classroom this fall knowing that their household budgets can’t afford school lunch. For some students, this means trying to focus and learn while experiencing the effects of skipping meals. As one parent described it, “You can’t think if your stomach’s growling. You can’t concentrate. Eight hours is a long time to be in school, and to be there hungry? What’s the point if all I’m doing is thinking about the pain in my stomach?”

The relationship between food access and healthy growth and development makes sense from a medical perspective.* TCMS member Dr. Andrea Singh, a Park Nicollet pediatrician who leads children’s health work at HealthPartners, explains it clearly. “First and foremost, when we’re talking about younger kids, there’s so much brain development that goes on. [It] requires extra fat, protein, and nutrition and unfortunately, when kids don’t have that, their bodies respond.” When kids consistently get the nourishment they need, grades and math scores go up while absenteeism and tardiness go down, and fewer students have to repeat grades. Common behavioral issues are less prevalent; students have more positive social interactions and more mental and emotional resilience.* On top of the effects of nutrition deprivation on the developing brain, the stress of food insecurity has long-term ramifications, a point Dr. Singh makes: “There’s an added layer of stress there, that causes a physiologic reaction in your body where your stress response is automatically on alert...That causes increased adrenaline — which then can lead to high blood pressure later in life, it can lead to heart disease, it can lead to a lot of grownup medical conditions that we don’t necessarily see [in food-insecure children], but we see the effects as they enter our world and our economy and the healthcare system as adults...”

School cafeterias haven’t always received top marks for the nutritional content of their meals, but updated standards in 2012 began to change that. The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) reports that students with access to school meals consume more fruits, veggies, and milk and are less likely to have nutrient deficiencies. In a study conducted after the new standards, FRAC found that lunches brought from home by pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students have more fat, saturated fat, and sugar than school lunches, and less protein, fiber, vitamin A, and calcium.* Low-income students stand to gain the most from free school meals — by getting the fuel and energy needed for a productive school day, and by consuming more nutritious food than they would otherwise. FRAC has found that low-income students who eat both school breakfast and lunch have a significantly better diet than low-income students who don’t eat school meals. And this has a positive impact on obesity rates: Students who participate in federally funded school meals have significantly lower BMIs. Economists have estimated that receiving free or reduced-price school lunch reduces obesity rates by at least 17%.* Clearly, the benefits of free school meals extend well beyond the school day. Just as children who live with food insecurity often experience cascading negative

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health and life outcomes as adults, students who get a consistent source of nutritious food are building the foundation for a lifetime of better health.

In Minnesota, one in six children is food-insecure—and one in four of these hungry kids comes from a household that doesn’t qualify for free or reduced-price school meals. Participation in these programs can be difficult to navigate for busy parents, and the financial threshold of any means-tested program will always leave behind those families who live just on the other side of meeting the requirements. During the past two years of federal waivers, participation in school meals increased statewide. Parents came to rely on

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the ease, convenience, and peace of mind in knowing their child would get healthy meals at school. School nutrition staff were able to spend their energy and time preparing and serving the best, most nutritious meals possible to their students—rather than focusing on complicated paperwork or chasing down meal debt. Now, with the waivers ended, we’re bracing for a return of hungry kids in the classroom and schools focused on administrative burdens rather than improving the nutrition of its meals. One parent sums it up: “[Taking away free school meals] would put parents in the position of deciding whether to spend their money on feeding their children or paying their bills. It’s gonna put a lot of struggle on parents, [especially] those on fixed income and working parents….”

Minnesota has a huge opportunity to give our students the daily support they need, plus lay the foundation for a stronger tomorrow. We thank the Twin Cities Medical Society for being part of the Hunger Free Schools coalition, and we encourage interested members to join in. Visit hungerfreeschoolsmn.org to learn how you can help our students, and Minnesota’s future, thrive.

Leah Gardner, MPP, (she/her/hers) is Policy Director for Hunger Solutions Minnesota and Campaign Manager for the Hunger Free Schools campaign. Prior to that she was Campaign Manager for the Good Food Access Campaign at the American Heart Association. Leah’s career has been grounded in a commitment to racial and economic justice. She previously led grassroots efforts in policy campaigns to advance economic equity for the Minnesota Budget Project at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. She began her career managing employment training and fundraising at Project for Pride in Living. Leah is a Voices for Racial Justice Apprentice and a graduate of the Humphrey Institute with a Master of Public Policy. She can be reached at: Phone: 651-789-9850; Email: lgardner@hungersolutions.org.

Reference: *https://frac.org/programs/national-school-lunch-program/benefits-school-lunch. Accessed July 5, 2022.