MAPLEWOOD, Minn. — Minnesota’s universal free school meals program appears to be catching on quickly with parents across the state, based on the first month’s data.

More than two million more meals were served by schools in Sept. 2023 compared to the same month in 2022, according to the Minn. Dept. of Education. That means that 1.2 million additional breakfasts were served, for a year-to-year increase of 31%, plus 1.1 million more lunches served, for an increase of 11% from the previous year.

Gov. Tim Walz, Lieutenant Gov. Peggy Flanagan, and Education Commissioner Willie Jett stepped into the role of “lunch ladies” Wednesday at Edgerton Elementary School in Maplewood to highlight the encouraging statistics.

“Our educators who I’ve met, and we’ve talked to this entire fall consistently tell me that their students are more attentive and they’re ready to learn and they directly attribute this to nutritious meals all across the state of Minnesota throughout the day,” Jett told reporters.

Lt. Gov. Flanagan, who championed this cause as a state legislator and kept pressing the case for it in the governor’s office, said it’s clear the new law is helping children grow and learn.  Flanagan relied on free and reduced school lunches as a child and later learned her mother would go without food so her family could eat.

“Seeing the impact in the lunchroom today, and analyzing the data thus far, affirmed what we just simply knew to be true, what advocates knew to be true, that Minnesota is a better and healthier state because of free school meals. Full stop.”

Leaders cautioned that the increased number of meals served doesn’t directly translate to the additional number of children served, because the new law allows children the option to buy a second meal or a la carte items. The new law provides one free breakfast and one free lunch per student per day.

But it’s clear that more children are eating healthy meals because of the bill the Minnesota Legislature passed and Gov. Walz signed into law last spring.

“The other thing that makes me feel so excited is seeing other states follow our lead,” Rep. Sydney Jordan, the Minneapolis Democrat who was the lead author of the bill, told reporters. “We see other states reference the Minnesota law and the work we did here in Minnesota as they make steps to feed their kids as well!”

Vadnais Heights Democrat Heather Gustafson, who led the effort in the Minnesota Senate, said the meals program should be viewed as a tax break for families with children in school.

“I’m a teacher. I also have four children. This is game-changing for parents, and I think that sometimes gets overlooked that this is putting money back in the pockets of lots of families,” Sen. Gustafson said. “The average family in White Bear Lake is saving about $1,800 a year.”

Roseville Superintendent Jenny Loeck said the new program has built upon the district’s ongoing efforts to make sure children are ready and able to learn.

“We’ve always taken care of our students and families, and we’re very proud of that, and really appreciate the state taking that on, and certainly, the mental health support, stress off of families,” Loeck said. “And the nutrition staff are doing what they’re hired to do, feed our students healthy, nutritious meals.”

Opponents of the idea have asserted that there is more food going to waste, now that families don’t have to pay for it. But Edgerton Elementary Principal Maura Weyandt pushed back against that narrative, citing all the programs within the school to minimize waste.

“We have children that bring their own snack to school, and then they take what’s left over from lunch. We don’t waste any food here,” Wyandt told reporters.

That includes using the offer versus serve system, so children are choosing what they want. There’s also a share table system for items that haven’t been unwrapped yet.

“And they take that to have for their snack. Many also take it home,” Wyandt said. “Food waste here is not an issue.”

The state’s budget gurus originally thought this program would cost $200 million per year, or $400 million per biennium.  But that figure has now been revised to $240 million per year, or $480 million per biennium.

Gov. Walz, a former high school teacher who often pulled lunchroom duty, said the increased demand for the meals shouldn’t be considered a problem.

“This is good news, but it also should be a wake-up call. We’ve got a lot of folks out there that may be more food insecure than we thought, that are right on that edge.”

December’s state budget forecast projected a $2.4 billion surplus for the two-year budget cycle that ends June 30, 2025, but a much tighter ending balance in the fiscal cycle that ends June 30, 2027.

That prompted Republicans to suggest the state return to a means-tested model, based on family income. They contend that higher-income families didn’t need this benefit.

“For all the low-income students who need it — and we want to make sure no one goes hungry — they were getting it through the free and reduced lunch program,” said Rep. Kristin Robbins, a Maple Grove Republican.

“This gave it — free lunch — to all the wealthy families, that’s a place we need to look at. Is that really a priority?”

Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson said the money might be better spent on other methods of raising student achievement.

“This is $400 million every biennium. Is that going to have the impact we really want? Is it going to change it from what it was before? We’ll see what that looks like, but we’re really concerned about having nation-leading education in this state.”

Governor Walz said the old means-tested system was a paperwork pain for parents and an administrative burden on schools, tracking who should receive free or reduced meals.

“I think this is just the way to go. We don’t means test for the electricity, we don’t means test for the carpet. We have the resources. And we’ll put it in, make a difference.”

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