Governor Tim Walz visited Webster Elementary School in Minneapolis on Friday and signed legislation that will provide Minnesota kids with free breakfast and lunch.
On Friday afternoon, community activists, youth leaders, and lawmakers gathered in northeast Minneapolis for a news conference.
Free Lunch In Schools
Minnesota, according to Gov. Walz, is the fourth state to make school lunches free, joining California, Colorado, and Maine.
Until recently, Minnesota law mandated that parents apply for free lunches through a federal reimbursement program based on their income. Beginning this year, districts may also automatically enroll a student in benefits if their family qualifies for Medicaid.
However, Walz and other supporters of universal free meals claimed that the forms constituted unneeded impediments.
Minnesota is the third state in the country to compel schools to provide free breakfast and lunch to all kids, regardless of family income, trailing only California and Maine. A similar statute in Colorado allows schools to participate in a state-funded free lunches program.
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Minnesota School Meals Proposal
According to state forecasts, the Minnesota scheme, which goes into force on Monday, would cost around $200 million per year. The proposal received bipartisan support in the Legislature, although several Republicans objected to the cost and claimed that the benefit should be limited to low-income families.
Some lawmakers, including some Republicans, claim that providing free school meals reduces the financial strain on families.
Sen. Heather Gustafson, DFL-Vadnais Heights, estimates that if a family of four in White Bear Lake ate two meals at school, they would save roughly $1,900 per school year. At the signing ceremony, she referred to the package as a “lunchbox tax cut,” which she sponsored in the Senate.
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