Governor Baker Signs Law that Will Ensure More Children Have Access to Free Lunches at School and Curtail Practice of Shaming Children with Meal Debt

Boston, Mass. (October 14, 2021) – The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) is celebrating the enactment of new legislation that addresses the challenge that children and families living in poverty face when it comes to unpaid school meal debt.  Governor Charlie Baker signed today the new law called An Act Promoting Student Nutrition, which was championed by State Senator Cynthia Stone Creem and State Representative Andy Vargas.

“We are grateful to Governor Baker and the Massachusetts legislature for taking seriously the need to change the meal debt practices in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” said Georgia Katsoulomitis, MLRI’s executive director.  “No child should be made to feel uncomfortable at school because their family is unable to afford a school lunch. This new law will ensure that more children have access to free lunches at school and will put limits on how meal debt is collected.”

In 2018, the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute issued a report that looked at unpaid school meal policies in Massachusetts and how they can become punitive towards children in low-income households. The report also looked at how other states across the nation were addressing this practice.

“The new law is both timely and critical because it boosts federal nutrition dollars to schools across Massachusetts, and keeps children out of what should be an ‘adult only’ conversation on school meal debt. But we know that more work needs to be done, at both the state and federal level, to ensure that no child is food insecure,” said Patricia Baker, MLRI’s food security expert and the author of the 2018 analysis. “In addition to the bill’s champions, Senator Creem and Representative Vargas, we wish to highlight the leadership of Senate President Karen Spilka, House Speaker Ron Mariano, Education Committee Co-Chairs State Senator Jason Lewis and State Representative Alice Peisch, Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael J. Rodrigues, and House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz. We thank them for their efforts on behalf of children living in poverty.”

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Suzanne Morse – Ph:(617) 646-1020, suzanne@sevenletter.com