A bill expanding access to free breakfast and lunch to some Delaware students is now law.
Gov. John Carney (D) signed House Bill 125 on Tuesday. It allows students who receive reduced-price meals from the federal School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program to now receive free meals.
Carney says bills like this help struggling families.
“This will help there, it will provide students who are now getting reduced-price lunch free lunches and that will help their families make ends meet and that’s really incredibly important,” Carney said. “Focus on working families and families that need our help.”
The bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Sherae’a Moore (D-Middletown), initially sought to provide free school breakfast and lunch to all Delaware public school students, but that carried an annual price tag of $40 million.
This version of the bill will cost the state around $250,000 annually. It passed without opposition in both the House and Senate.
Carney explained that the goal of the bill is to set children up for promising futures.
“Any way that we can provide resources to help educators and those who are with our children every day do a better job in educating those children so that they can read at grade level by third grade,” Carney said. “So they can do math proficiently by middle school, and so they can graduate and be ready to either go out into the work world with a good job or onto higher education. The success on all those levels will determine the success of our state.”
The bill has garnered support from the Delaware State Education Association, Nemours Children’s Health, and the American Heart Association.
Lieutenant Governor Bethany Long-Hall (D) was also present to support HB125’s signing.
Long-Hall says that the bill will provide an essential start for children to succeed.
“As a career educator and a nurse, I can say to you that food and nutrition are just foundational to the success of our children,” Long-Hall said in a speech on Tuesday.
