A national movement to feed children at school for free is growing. Photo: Adobe Stock
The Dare County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously earlier this week to fund a free meals program for public school students for the remainder of the school year.
The board approved $415,000 in funding for the program, which will feed about 5,000 public school students in the county at no cost to them.
It comes after community outcry when students were refused service when they had a negative balance of greater than $10 on their cafeteria account.
“We already provide students with books, computers and transportation — but not food. A student who is food insecure is going to struggle to learn,” Dare County Schools superintendent Steve Basnight said.
This isn’t the first measure of its kind. There have been federal, state, and local efforts for free lunches in public schools.
During the pandemic, all public school students in the U.S. were eligible for free school meals, regardless of family income.
That program is no longer in place, but increasingly more states across the country are looking at universal school meal laws.
North Carolina currently offers free and reduced meals to eligible public school children based on total household income. Lawmakers have introduced bills to expand this to all students, but the legislation hasn’t passed.
More school districts in the western portion of the state were taking advantage of free meal programs prior to Hurricane Helene.
School Meals for All NC, a nonpartisan group working to ensure public school children receive free breakfast and lunch at school, is advocating for the North Carolina General Assembly to pass legislation supporting universal no-cost school means.
“By investing in a statewide school meals for all policy, we can ensure that no child goes hungry while they are at school,” School Meals for All NC wrote in a statement. “Every child deserves the chance to succeed, and eliminating hunger is a key part of that mission.”