Today, the Massachusetts Senate passed H. 3999, An Act to Promote School Nutrition, which will address the challenge that children and families living in poverty face when it comes to unpaid school meal debt. You can learn more about this legislation on the MLRI blog or in Commonwealth Magazine.

“We are very pleased that the Massachusetts House and Senate unanimously passed this important Legislation. Children should never be caught in the middle of school meal debt, denied hot meals or prevented from participating in extracurricular activities or graduation due to unpaid meal debt,” said Patricia Baker, the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute’s food security expert.

“As schools return to ‘normal’ post COVID, we hope school meal debt collection practices are history. Should Congress expand free school meal eligibility through the Build Back Better Act, we strongly urge the Massachusetts General Court to approve legislation that provides universal free school meals so that all Massachusetts students are fed and ready to learn. We deeply appreciate the hard work of Senator Cynthia Stone Creem and Representative Andy Vargas in sponsoring and shepherding this important legislation, and the leadership of Senate President Karen Spilka, House Speaker Ron Mariano and the entire Massachusetts Legislature.”