Earlier this week, Colorado voters opted to make the state’s school-lunch program free for all public school students. Colorado’s vote in support of universal school lunches comes as the USDA, which administers the National School Lunch Program, has been working overtime to paint the program as a great success that just keeps getting better.
During most of the Covid pandemic, the USDA made universal free lunches available to public school systems around the country. Even after that lapsed, many if not most kids in Colorado (and every other state) whose families can’t afford to provide them with lunches or lunch money were already eligible to receive free- or reduced-price school lunches under the federal government’s National School Lunch Program.
Supporters of the Colorado measure claimed around 70,000 students in the state who had received free lunches under the universal program were not eligible to receive free- or reduced-price school lunches. But instead of, say, providing cash to the families of those 70,000 students, the ballot measure made lunch (and breakfast) free for all students, regardless of need. It also ensured salary increases for cafeteria workers. Oh, and it’ll cost $100 million per year.
See the full article by Baylen Linnekin, November 12, 2022