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Could free school lunches come to Pennsylvania?

  • Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering bills in 2025 that would guarantee free school meals for all students statewide and ban meal-related discipline.
  • These bills respond to the 2022 federal funding halt for free lunches and tighten USDA eligibility, which could cause 700 schools to lose eligibility affecting 320,000 children.
  • The proposed measures, led by State Sen. Lindsey Williams, estimate a $360 million annual cost covering universal meals plus a one-time fund to erase families’ meal debt.
  • Advocates emphasize that school meals adhere to national nutrition standards and serve as a vital safety net, while critics cite the state's multibillion-dollar structural deficit as a funding challenge.
  • If enacted, the bills could reduce stigma for children now receiving free meals and shift lunch cost responsibility from families to the state, though budget approval remains uncertain.
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The Daily ItemThe Daily Item
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Free school lunch in Pennsylvania? Lawmakers want it to be part of the budget

Advocates say free school lunch would produce healthier, more engaged students — plus would save kids from stigma, and parents from debt.

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  • 88% of the sources are Center
88% Center
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abc 27 broke the news in on Friday, June 28, 2024.
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