‘It helps students achieve in academics’: Nebraska senators discuss free school meal bill
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — No student would have to worry about food costs if a new proposal advances at the Nebraska State Capitol.
Legislative Bill 627, also known as Adopt the Free Student Meals Act, is sponsored by Sen. Eliot Bostar.
The proposed law would create a grant program that reimburses both public and nonprofit private schools that offer breakfast and lunch at no cost to students.
“It helps students achieve in academics, help them with their health and then they behave better when they are fed,” said Eric Savaiano, program manager with Appleseed’s Food and Nutrition Access.
If approved, the bill would provide meals to all students, no matter how much money their family makes.
This comes on the heels of a report by the Associated Press, which found that kids are going hungry as pandemic-era benefit programs expire.
“Students may go to school and their minds might not be fully on academics because they’re thinking of school meals and if their parents even had enough to eat,” said Anahi Salazar, policy coordinator at Voices for Children in Nebraska.
