Make public school meals free to all children

Over 44 million school meals are served each day in the U.S. The majority are for children who qualify for free/reduced meals. Recently, California became the first state to offer free school lunches to all children regardless of parent's income. For children to receive free school lunch, their family typically has to make around $34,000 dollars or less per year. Many families that qualify for free school meals do not sign up due to not knowing they qualify, fear or shame. Removing these barriers would help ensure no child goes hungry at public schools in Illinois.

During a summer internship at NIU, I helped run a summer school lunch program for School District 25. It provided free breakfast and lunch. Most of the children who qualified lived in a low-income apartment complex. Meals were made ahead of time and then distributed at the complex. Any child could receive a meal and did not have to sign up or show qualifications. The meals were nutritious and helped assure that at-risk children did not go hungry during summer break.

New data shows children eating free school meals doesn't just keep them full, but it also helps improve their physical and mental health. A pilot program showed schoolwide free meals improved math performance in districts that typically had few students who qualified.

Schools in the pilot program also saw decreases in the amount of out-of-school suspensions issued. Research has also shown that free/reduced school meals lead to less food insecurity, lower rates of childhood obesity and better health. As the data shows, free meals helps children in numerous ways, which is why I am petitioning Illinois lawmakers to make public school meals in Illinois free for all children.

Timothy J. Ackermann

Arlington Heights