Proposal to let schools opt in to expanded meal assistance gets bipartisan support

The Merrimack School District has long maintained a breakfast program for high school students: $2 per meal, with discounts for lower-income students. And after the district recently extended the program to its middle school, the effects were immediately apparent, Kaitlyn Bernier says. 

“We have seen test scores improve (after) the breakfast (program) just at that middle school,” Bernier, a member of the school district’s budget committee, said in testimony to lawmakers last week. 

One bill this year would allow the school district to extend those discounts to more students. After years of debate among New Hampshire lawmakers over legislation to boost school meal assistance for low-income public school students, legislation to do so is moving forward with bipartisan support — at least in the state Senate.

Senate Bill 204 would allow school boards to vote to raise the eligibility level for free and reduced-price lunches to 200% of the federal poverty level, up from the current 185% cap.

Currently, the National School Lunch Program allows students from families making up to 130% of the federal poverty level — $41,795 for a family of four — to pay nothing for school lunches, and those from families making between 130% and 185% — $59,488 for a family of four — to pay no more than 40 cents per lunch. SB 204 would allow school boards to extend that second category up to 200%. 

And those school districts that chose to expand would also be required to offer online and physical applications to the free and reduced-price lunch program.

The legislation passed the Senate by unanimous voice vote, but it has received a tougher reception in the House, as Republicans on the House Education Funding Committee have voiced skepticism that school meal access is as big a problem as advocates say.

“Are you familiar with any situations where a child is not given the breakfast or lunch in school because they are unable to pay?” asked Rep. Daniel Popovici-Muller, a Windham Republican, speaking to Sen. Donovan Fenton, a Keene Democrat who sponsored the legislation, during a hearing on the bill. Fenton said while he didn’t know of a student that was refused a meal, some school districts provide cold food options to children whose parents have school lunch debt. Others choose not to create consequences, but the meal debt still affects them, Fenton said. 

“What we are finding out is that schools are trying to pay no matter what for these meals, oftentimes going into massive amounts of debt that we pick up the tab for: the state,” Fenton said. “And if we have a program that is an opt-in program where the taxpayers aren’t burdened with this, I think that would help tremendously.”

Rep. Dan McGuire, an Epsom Republican, noted that the Legislature is increasing state funding to schools despite enrollment dropping. 

“What we just passed in our House budget was more money — not just per pupil, but total dollars — for education than ever before,” he said. 

The cost of SB 204’s proposed expansion would be split by the state and local taxpayers. 

In the existing national program, the federal government reimburses schools for a certain amount for students whose families make up to 185% of the federal poverty level — but no higher. Under SB 204, for those school districts that choose to expand to 200%, the state would pay half the additional cost and the school districts would pay the other half. 

The bill sets aside $250,000 for the first fiscal year for the Department of Education to distribute money to school districts, as well as another $107,000 to cover administrative costs for the department to help set up online applications. 

Fenton, who introduced the bill with Sen. Tim Lang, a Sanbornton Republican, said the bill is necessary to help more families avoid school lunch debt — and to help more students obtain more nutritious meals.

“We want to ensure that no child goes hungry in school,” he said. “We recognize that well-nourished students are better learners, and that investing in them today leads to a stronger workforce and economy tomorrow.”

The legislation comes a year after Democrats and some Republicans attempted to pass a bill that would increase eligibility for reduced-price lunches to 300% across all school districts. That legislation, House Bill 572, passed the House but was tabled by the Senate. This time, lawmakers are proposing to make it voluntary for each school district, Fenton noted.

“This is an opt-in program that allows communities to decide what is best for their students, while offering a cost-sharing structure that ensures neither the state nor local school districts bear the full financial weight,” Fenton said. 

New Hampshire Hunger Solutions, an advocacy group that has supported a number of bills to expand school lunch services in schools, endorsed the bill, arguing there are more children showing up to school hungry than may be known.

“I was at Somersworth Middle School: I popped into the (nurse’s office) and I asked her if she was tracking hunger visits,” said Riona Corr, deputy director of the organization. “It was 9:30 in the morning. I asked her how many kids came in because they were hungry. There was nine.”

Corr said the nurse at Somersworth High School that day told her the number was 15. 

“Our kids are hungry, and we’re listening to the constituents within the schools and hearing what they need,” Corr said. “We’re not here to ask for solutions. We actually do have a solution.”

But some Republicans have raised concerns about the cost of increasing the program to local taxpayers — even if the expansion option were voluntary.

Rep. Riché Colcombe, a Hillsborough Republican, asked about the need for lower-cost options for breakfast.

“I understand the part about lunch, but I don’t understand the part about breakfast,” Colcombe said. “I’ve always been fed breakfast before or eaten breakfast before I left the house, so as a child, I had breakfast before school started.”

“I think that’s amazing that you had breakfast,” Fenton replied. “The problem here is that a lot of children aren’t having those meals.” 

Bernier agreed, arguing that malnutrition and food insecurity do exist for children in New Hampshire.

“There’s a lot of people that might not have that privilege to be able to have breakfast at home with their family beforehand,” Bernier said. “Their parents might not have that money. They might be given a Pop Tart that was expired from the food pantry of their community that they’re trying to put together because they’re just trying to do what they can to give a child something, and what they could really benefit from is a more nutritious meal that our schools are trying to help provide.”