Three Senate Democrats have introduced legislation that would wipe out the nation's student meal debt.
Sens. John Fetterman, Sheldon Whitehouse and Peter Welch introduced the School Lunch Debt Cancellation Act, which would erase student meal debt by directing the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to pay for all debts owed to schools for lunch and breakfast programs.
"'School lunch debt' is a term so absurd that it shouldn't even exist," Fetterman, the chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture's Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research, said in a statement on Monday.
"That's why I'm proud to introduce this bill to cancel the nation's student meal debt and stop humiliating kids and penalizing hunger."
He added: "It's time to come together and stop playing political games with American's access to food. September is Hunger Action Month and I'm proud to be introducing this bill to help working families now, while we work to move our other priorities to combat food insecurity in our nation."
The legislation aims to erase the debt incurred under the National School Lunch Program, which operates in public and non-proft private schools as well as residential childcare institutions.
Federal lawmakers made lunch free for public school students during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but that program expired last year. Students who are unable to pay for their meals still receive them, but the money owed is added to a tab in their name.
Fetterman and his colleagues said there are more than 30 million children across the nation who can't afford their school meals and the national public school meal debt is $262 million a year.
Meanwhile, child poverty in the country more than doubled last year, according to figures released by the Census Bureau this month.
"No child in Rhode Island—or anywhere in America—should be penalized for not being able to afford school lunch. It's that simple," said Whitehouse, of Rhode Island.
"Our legislation will eliminate lunch debt in schools, supporting every child's access to a healthy meal and positioning them for long-term success."
Welch, of Vermont, added: "Our students shouldn't have to worry about how they're paying for lunch—full stop. I'm proud to partner with my colleagues Senators Fetterman and Whitehouse on this commonsense bill, and urge my colleagues to stand with us. We have a duty to ensure that every student—in Vermont, and across America—is supported and respected."
Several states have introduced universal free school meal programs, providing food to students regardless of income. Fetterman earlier this year introduced legislation to provide free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack to every school-age child.
Schoolchildren in California, Colorado, New Mexico, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Vermont have made school breakfasts and lunches permanently free for all students. Several other states are considering similar changes.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on abortion rights, race, education, ... Read more
