House kills bill to provide free breakfast, lunch in public schools

House Republicans killed a bill that would require each Virginia public elementary and secondary school board to provide free breakfast and lunch to students in a 5-3 party-line vote.

The bill, HB 1967, introduced by Del. Michael Mullin, D-Newport News, was reviewed during the Pre-K-12 Education Subcommittee meeting Tuesday.

The bill would have required every school board in Virginia to participate in federally assisted school meal programs. This follows the recent expiration of pandemic program waivers that provided free school meals across the country. These programs include The National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program and Community Eligibility Provision, both administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Many school lunch programs require forms and applications, which can be an additional obstacle for families. HB 1967 would have eliminated school lunch debt.

During the meeting, Del. Glenn Davis, R-Virginia Beach, questioned whether the bill would give free lunches to all students regardless of parental income.

“I hate the stigma,” Davis said. “I don’t think a child whose dad drives up in a Jaguar, and he jumps out with a pair of Jordans on is getting stigmatized because he forgot his lunch money.”

He added that the money could go toward teacher pay or construction of schools.

In an interview with the Capital News Service, Mullin addressed Davis’ concern.

“I don’t think that we ‘means test’ the school bus or chalk,” Mullin said. “I don’t think that we should ‘means test’ public school. It’s incumbent in all of us to make sure that kids are hungry to learn and not just plain hungry.”

Mullin also referenced a tax bill passed through the House Finance Committee on Tuesday.

“I think on the same day in which we just voted for $1.2 billion of tax cuts for the wealthiest corporations across the Commonwealth, that we could see fit to make sure that we are doing our best to feed the most needy of our students,” he said.

Mullin still has hope for the accompanying budget amendment of $271.5 million to pay for one school year carried by chief co-patron Del. Danica Roem, D-Manassas.

“This is a multi-year effort,” he said. “I think that we’ve set a high bar on what I, and my colleagues and my caucus want, hope and expect in years to come.”

This bill could have filled some of the gaps left by the expiration of federal pandemic waivers in fall 2022, which had been in place for two years and allowed all schools to offer free meals to all students, according to a Jan. 11 survey report by the School Nutrition Association.

Nationally, there has been a dramatic effect on school meal programs, families and students from the loss of the waivers, said Diane Pratt-Heavner, director of media relations for SNA, in an interview with the Capital News Service.

SNA is a national, non-profit professional organization representing 50,000 school nutrition professionals across the country.

“Most schools have had to return to asking families to fill out a free and reduced price meal application form and charging students who aren’t eligible for meal benefits,” Pratt-Heaver said.

This application form has always been a barrier for ensuring that students who are eligible for free school meals receive them, she said. The application asks for personal information including the last four digits of a Social Security number, or that applicants disclose if they don’t have a Social Security number.

“We’re seeing an increase in stigma for students who depend on school meals as a key source of nutrition, and an increase in unpaid meal debt,” she said.

There are strict federal nutrition standards for school breakfast and lunch, and it is because of these rules that kids are eating their healthiest meals at school, Pratt-Heaver added.

“We need to make sure that kids have equal access to these meals that include fruits, vegetables, low-fat milk, protein and whole grains,” she said.