Thousands of students in New Mexico are now receiving free school meals. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham paid a special visit to Pion Elementary School on Monday. The school is located on Camino de Los Caballos.
In the presence of state legislators, school workers, and young children, she signed Senate Bill 4 into law. The Act mandates free, nutritious school lunches for all public school pupils in the Land of Enchantment.
New Mexico Children May Receive Free, Discounted Meals
During the previous 60-day session, the bill was approved by the Legislature, with lawmakers allocating more than $22 million in the state budget to help fund the program. Extra funds will be utilized to upgrade school kitchens so that healthier meals may be produced.
About 67% — or 309,000 New Mexico students — are eligible to receive free and reduced-price lunches through the National School Lunch Program, according to the New Mexico Public Education Department.
The signing of the legislation could impact nearly 70,000 students who normally would have had to pay for school meals, with department officials expecting a 5% to 10% increase in participation in districts that operate national school lunch programs.
Food Insecurity In New Mexico
Legislative analysts have estimated that providing meals at no cost to students at participating schools could total between $27 million and $40 million in recurring funding from the state’s general fund.
Through farm-to-table grants, the new law intends to increase the amount of food produced by local farms. At the moment, approximately 168 farmers, ranchers, and food enterprises sell locally produced items to schools in 19 of the state’s 33 counties.
Supporters also believe that the new regulation will reduce food waste by requiring kindergarten through sixth-grade kids to sit down and eat more time, as well as collecting unused food for use by food pantries, students, and other charity groups.