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Coalition asks state to foot meal bill

Wants lawmakers to pay $20M to feed all school children

The Hunger Free Schools Coalition is calling on the Ohio General Assembly to help fund breakfast and lunch for all school children in the state.

This proposal is estimated to cost Ohio $20 million per year, but the coalition argues the benefits for Ohio’s children justify the pricetag.

Coalition members include the Ohio Education Association, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Way, Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hunger Alliance, among others.

“It’s enlightening and energizing that there is a group outside of food service workers that wants to fight for this cause,” Alexis Weber, food service director at Austintown Local Schools, said.

OEA President Scott DiMauro said the coalition is calling on the state general assembly to cover the cost for any meal that is not already covered by existing programs.

Currently, students can be eligible for free or reduced lunch through a federal program, but that student’s family must live at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty level to receive free lunch. This equates to an annual income of $36,000 for a family of four for the 2021-2022 school year. Massachusetts Institute of Technology data estimates the livable salary for a family of four in Ohio is around $72,000.

The coalition argues that this illustrates how current federal programs leave many families struggling with hunger not able to take advantage of free or reduced lunch.

One in six children across the state, and as many as one in four children in some counties in Ohio, live in households that face hunger. More than one in three of those children do not qualify for free or reduced lunch.

“We know that the federal government through the Department of Agriculture provides a significant amount of subsidies to school food programs. These are the backbone of what our schools depend on, but there’s a gap and the statehouse has the opportunity to fill that gap,” DiMauro said at a news conference Monday.

“This isn’t a partisan issue. Other states, including may Republican-led states in this country, are working toward or have passed legislation to accomplish this. Ohio can do it too. When we have stronger, smarter, healthier kids, we have a stronger, smarter, healthier, more economically competitive state.”

A study was done by the Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio and Baldwin Wallace University. It showed 87 percent of the parents and caregivers with a child in school who were surveyed across the state agreed that school meals should be provided at no cost to all students, regardless of the student’s ability to pay.

That same survey showed that 82 percent of Ohio parents and caregivers agreed that school meals are helpful for their families.

“I just think this is a good cause. I think we should work to make this happen,” Weber said. “Children can’t learn unless their bellies are full and I think with this program, we would be setting the precedent in the state that we are helping every child succeed.”

During the pandemic, the federal government funded free school meals to all students. Weber said before that, about 50 percent of students in Austintown ate school meals, and that jumped to 70 to 80 percent of students while the pandemic-era policy was in place. She said when more students are eating lunch at school, the school is able to bring the meal cost per student down.

Those who spoke at the news conference pointed to several situations when the community had to come together to help pay for students’ lunches. This happened in Austintown in the last couple of weeks.

The Austintown Board of Education accepted $3,395 in donations to pay off student meal debt at its meeting Feb. 16. In just two weeks, enough money was raised to pay off the total debt from families with students in preK to 12th grade. The meal debt was at $5,000, but the community raised several thousand more. That extra money will go to paying off future meal debt.

The reason there is debt, Weber said, is that the district never turns away a child without money in the lunch line. So, when that child runs out of money on his or her lunch card, but the parent can’t add more money, the debt for that child accumulates.

DiMauro said he envisions the guidelines set by the existing federal program would just be extended to all students. This means a student would get free breakfast and lunch. Lunch would include a protein, grain, fruit, vegetable and milk. Anything extra would be charged to that student’s account.

State Rep. Jay Edwards, R-Nelsonville, who chairs the finance committee, attended the news conference and said this is the start of an important conversation as the general assembly is set to begin its biennial budget process.

On Jan. 31, Gov. Mike DeWine presented the general assembly with his version of the budget. By June 30, the assembly must present the governor with a budget to sign into law.

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