North Dakota Coalition Readies Ballot Campaign For Universal School Meals

(Adobe Stock via Prairie News Service)

(By Mike Moen. Prairie News Service) – A North Dakota coalition hopes to soon gather signatures for a citizen-led ballot initiative, where free school meals for all K-12 students would be up for consideration. Organizers say universal lunches are the right way to improve the state’s educational fortunes.

The Together for School Meals campaign last week submitted paperwork to the North Dakota Secretary of State to get the ball rolling on the proposed constitutional amendment.

If adopted, every student, regardless of their family’s income, would have access to one no-cost breakfast and lunch every school day. Sponsoring Committee Chair with the coalition, Robin Nelson, said there’s a body of research that illustrates the benefits of this approach.

“We know that when kids have a healthy breakfast and lunch,” said Nelson, “they perform better academically, behavior issues decline and our attendance rates increase.”

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