ND House expands school lunch program

The North Dakota House has scaled back a bill that would have provided a free lunch to every student in a public school.

An amendment to House Bill 1491 would set aside $6 million dollars to cover K-12 lunch costs for students at 200% of the federal poverty level. For a family of four that would be roughly $60,000 dollars.

It’s estimated that just over 29,100 students in the state currently receive a free lunch under current guidelines. Another 21 hundred students would qualify under the changes.

Representative LaurieBeth Hager called it a good bill.  “We are looking at a way of $3 a day to help a child who is hungry.”

Representative Jeff Hoverson says it’s not about compassion – but about the government’s role.  “The question we have to seriously ask ourselves is what is the government’s role.  Taxpayer money is not ours to give – so it’s not more noble or compassionate to give away other people’s money.”

Providing free meals to all 116,000 students in grades K-12 would have cost the state some $89.5 million dollars.
The amended bill was approved 80-11.