(Amanda Mills/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Full bellies and nutritious food options aren’t a guarantee for all of Virginia’s public schoolchildren.
Hungry students can’t focus on learning and comprehension. Researchers say free school meals boost attendance and improve diet , as well reduce the stigma associated with children who struggle to pay in the cafeteria line.
That’s why Virginia should join a handful of pioneering states that provide free breakfasts and/or lunches to all K-12 schoolkids, regardless of family income. Those states include Colorado , California and Maine . Others have approved legislation establishing optional or mandatory universal school meal programs , according to the National Conference of State Legislatures .
Virginia state Sen. Danica Roem, a Manassas Democrat who’s authored several successful bills involving school meals since joining the General Assembly in 2018, has sponsored Senate Bill 283 this General Assembly session. It would provide universal free breakfasts and lunches to the commonwealth’s 1.26 million public schoolchildren.