Legislators voted to send a school meal funding bill to Appropriations with a “do not pass” recommendation. The bill, known as House Bill 1089, aims to cover meal copays for eligible students with reduced prices. The cost is estimated at $616,000 annually by the Bureau of Finance and Management. Miss Hot Springs Julia Stanek, representing Feeding South Dakota, emphasized the importance of addressing childhood hunger.
Representative Kadyn Wittman, who sponsored the bill, shared her personal experience of having to choose between eating lunch and saving her parents’ money. However, opponents of the bill argued that school meals are already heavily subsidized at the federal level and that they have seen wastage of food in school lunchrooms.
The bill specifically targets students from families earning between 130% and 185% of the federal poverty level, covering their 40-cent lunch and 30-cent breakfast copays. Despite the positive intentions of the bill to address childhood hunger, some legislators do not believe it is necessary given the existing federal subsidies for school meals.
The discussions and debate around this bill highlight the ongoing challenges faced by families struggling with food insecurity in South Dakota. The decision to send the bill to the Joint Appropriations Committee with a negative recommendation indicates the divided opinions among legislators on how to best address this issue.
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