In 2022, the nearly 26 percent of students living in Lake County met income eligibility to receive free or reduced-cost lunches. That’s over 350 kids living in households experiencing financial circumstances which put them at risk of inadequate nutrition. It’s hard for children to learn when they are hungry. And it’s also hard for kids to deal with the stigma of having a different color lunch ticket or wondering whether there will be any money in your lunch account when get in line at the cafeteria. Even for those not eligible for the benefit, many families struggle to keep balances in their children’s food accounts.
For schools, among the last things they want to do is keep track of these accounts, call parents to ask for payments, and have to deny a child a regular breakfast or lunch if they don’t have the funds to pay.
Thanks to the DFL-led legislature, and Governor Tim Walz, these worries will now be a thing of the past. Every child will now have unfettered access to adequate nutrition at school—no questions asked. No student will have to worry about whether they will be fed. No parent will have to worry whether they are able to afford putting money in their child’s lunch account. And no cafeteria server or teacher or principal will have to agonize over whether or not to feed a child in a Minnesota school.
Bonnie Peterson
Two Harbors
