During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools were able to offer meals to all students at no charge through the pandemic-related child nutrition waivers offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Massachusetts chose to extend it and then last year voted to make it permanent, using funding from the Fair Share Amendment.
A new report by the Food Research and Action Center highlights the positive impacts of universal school meals. As the report notes, the research is clear: participation in school meals improves academic achievement, attendance, and student behavior at school; decreases childhood food insecurity; leads to children eating more fruits, vegetables, and milk; and reduces visits to the school nurse.
As the chart below shows, breakfast participation in Massachusetts went up by 25% from 2018-2019 numbers, and lunch participation went up by 16% from 2018-2019 numbers.
We will continue to see these benefits from universal school meals — a reminder that they are both good politics and good policy.
On Monday (a month past the deadline), the MA House and Senate came to an agreement on the budget for the next fiscal year.
We wanted to highlight some of the important victories in it:
Tuition equity for all students regardless of immigration status
Permanent funding for universal school meals
No Cost Calls, keeping incarcerated individuals and their families connected
These victories came because of people like you reaching out to your legislators (and then reaching out to friends to do so too) and keeping the momentum going.
The budget also contained transformative new investments because of the Fair Share amendment, which you voted for and organized for last year.
But the fight is not over yet…..
Call Gov. Healey to urge her to sign the budget
The budget doesn’t become law until Gov. Healey signs it.
Can you call her office at (617) 725-4005 to urge her to support Tuition Equity, Permanent Universal School Meals, and No Cost Calls without changes?
The call can be short and sweet: it just needs that simple message.
Urge Your State Legislators to Reject Tax Cuts for the Ultra-Rich and Large Corporations
Although the Legislature came to an agreement on the budget, they are still in negotiations about a tax reform package.
Massachusetts needs to prioritize spending on what will make our state truly affordable, equitable, and competitive: programs that support working people and ensure a labor force adequate to our economy’s needs. That, in turn, requires that families have affordable housing, childcare, educational opportunities, and reliable transportation to make it possible for them to work, gain skills, and earn a good living.
We need to act NOW to protect the Fair Share Amendment from tax avoidance, and ensure that Massachusetts can invest more in our schools, colleges, roads, bridges, and public transit systems. At the same time, we need to make sure our legislators don’t give away billions of dollars to the ultra-rich.
