Hearing for "School Meals for All" scheduled for Jan 4th, bill faces critical moment

Project Bread

School Meals for All, a universal school meals bill championed by the Feed Kids Coalition — led by Project Bread — faces a critical moment.

The Joint Committee on Education will hear testimonies on Tuesday, January 4, 2022 on whether this bill to make school meals availble at no-cost to all students in Massachusetts should move forward. 

Now is the time for you to make some noise! This is our small window of opportunity to influence whether School Meal for All will get one step closer to becoming a reality for kids across the Commonwealth.

If the Commitee recommends the bill:

  • Favorably: We are one step closer to School Meals for All becoming enacted into law.
  • Unfavorably: We will refile the bill next legislative cycle and try again. 

Help pass school meals for all

Urge the MA legislature to vote favorably in support of School Meals for All.

We ask that you complete this quick Action Alert and share it with your network to send a clear message to the MA legislature that we want them to support School Meals for All. It only takes a few clicks of a button.

You can inspire a lawmaker to support School Meals for All

What kids stand to lose

Federal pandemic waivers allowing our state to serve free meals to all students expire at the end of this school year, and if the Committee doesn’t vote to favorably on School Meals for All, many Massachusetts children who relied on universal school meals as one of their their primary sources of nutrition during the pandemic will go hungry.

We need you to act and tell the Massachusetts legislature to prevent a child hunger crisis in our state. Committee hearings are an important part of the legislative process because they offer an opportunity for legislators to hear directly from their constituents on legislation that impacts their community. 

Feed Kids. Solve Hunger. School Meals for All

How you can help the Feed Kids Coalition

  1. Complete this quick action alert or text FEEDKIDS to 52866. Just press "Send" to ask your legislators to support School Meals for All on Tuesday.
  2. Share your personal story about school meals. Stories shape how lawmakers view hunger by connecting them on a personal level to the issue. Whether you personally ate free school meals or have seen how they have helped students or children in your school/community, your story has the ability to change a legislators mind.
  3. Submit written testimony: Legislators review written testimony as the formal record of support for a bill. This is an opportunity for you to get your perspective on record, either personally or on behalf of your organization, community group, or workplace. Testimony can be as short as one page! This template can help you format your testimony
  4. Raise awareness with a letter to the editor: Letters to the editor are an important tool in changing the conversation around social justice issues, and easy to submit. We’ve made it simple and pre-drafted letters for you--just use this template to submit a letter to your local paper.
  5. Post on social media. Use this toolkit to raise public awareness about the need for school meal reform here. Be sure to use the hashtag #FeedKidsMA and #SchoolMeals4All

Learn more about the Feed Kids Campaign

COVID-19 has worsened our already pressing hunger crisis, especially for children. Food insecurity increased from 1 in 10 households with children to 1 in 5 households with children in Massachusetts. The Feed Kids Coalition is leading a campaign to pass School Meals for All legislation (S.314/H.714) that provides a solution that lasts far beyond the pandemic — school meals at no-cost for all students in Massachusetts. 

Back to News Left Arrow