ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A Minnesota state senator's comments over the passage of a bill this week that would provide free meals to all students, regardless of income, are drawing criticism on the national stage.
"I have yet to meet a person in Minnesota that is hungry," Sen. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa) said prior to the Senate's vote on the legislation. "I have yet to meet a person in Minnesota that says they don't have access to enough food to eat ... I should say that hunger is a relative term. I had a cereal bar for breakfast, I guess I'm hungry now."
The proposal makes permanent a pandemic policy that advocates say is crucial to curbing child hunger. The vote was 38-26, with some Republicans joining Democrats in voting yes.
"There is no such thing as a free lunch," Drazkowski said. "The people of Minnesota are paying in this bill over $400 million in taxes to pay for the lunches of kids, the majority of which are already having their lunches paid for by their families now."
Drazkowski's comments were posted to Twitter by reporter Aaron Rupar, and the video has since been seen nearly 6.5 million times, as of Thursday morning.
Sen. Heather Gustafson (DFL-Vadnais Heights), the bill's author, was one of many who responded to the comments by Drazkowski, claiming on Twitter that one in five students in his own district qualify for free and reduced lunch.
One in four food-insecure children don't qualify for support under current federal programs, according to nonprofit group Hunger Solutions Minnesota. Visits to food shelves hit a record high last year, exceeding the height of the pandemic in 2020.
"Feeding kids at school is the right thing to do," Gustafson said. "Being hungry makes learning almost impossible. There is no worksheet or assignment, test or project that will matter to a student who hasn't had anything to eat."
Gustafson gave this example to capture the impact on family budgets: she said parents in White Bear Lake with two children would save more than $1,800 per school year under "universal" meals plan.
Sen. Zach Duckworth (R-Lakeville), who ultimately supported the legislation and voted yes, sought to table the bill to be considered in a broader education package so lawmakers could weigh the needs of all the state's priorities—many of them with a large price tags.
"What we don't have here is a disagreement that there is a need that should be served. What we do potentially have a disagreement about is how to go about doing that," he said.
The program could be operational by summer school in July.
WCCO reached out to Drazkowski's office, and haven't received a response.
WCCO Staff
The WCCO Staff is a group of experienced journalists who bring you the content on WCCO.com.
"I have yet to meet a person in Minnesota that is hungry": Outrage follows Sen. Drazkowski's comments on free school meals
By WCCO Staff
/ CBS Minnesota
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A Minnesota state senator's comments over the passage of a bill this week that would provide free meals to all students, regardless of income, are drawing criticism on the national stage.
"I have yet to meet a person in Minnesota that is hungry," Sen. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa) said prior to the Senate's vote on the legislation. "I have yet to meet a person in Minnesota that says they don't have access to enough food to eat ... I should say that hunger is a relative term. I had a cereal bar for breakfast, I guess I'm hungry now."
The proposal makes permanent a pandemic policy that advocates say is crucial to curbing child hunger. The vote was 38-26, with some Republicans joining Democrats in voting yes.
"There is no such thing as a free lunch," Drazkowski said. "The people of Minnesota are paying in this bill over $400 million in taxes to pay for the lunches of kids, the majority of which are already having their lunches paid for by their families now."
Drazkowski's comments were posted to Twitter by reporter Aaron Rupar, and the video has since been seen nearly 6.5 million times, as of Thursday morning.
Sen. Heather Gustafson (DFL-Vadnais Heights), the bill's author, was one of many who responded to the comments by Drazkowski, claiming on Twitter that one in five students in his own district qualify for free and reduced lunch.
One in four food-insecure children don't qualify for support under current federal programs, according to nonprofit group Hunger Solutions Minnesota. Visits to food shelves hit a record high last year, exceeding the height of the pandemic in 2020.
"Feeding kids at school is the right thing to do," Gustafson said. "Being hungry makes learning almost impossible. There is no worksheet or assignment, test or project that will matter to a student who hasn't had anything to eat."
Gustafson gave this example to capture the impact on family budgets: she said parents in White Bear Lake with two children would save more than $1,800 per school year under "universal" meals plan.
Sen. Zach Duckworth (R-Lakeville), who ultimately supported the legislation and voted yes, sought to table the bill to be considered in a broader education package so lawmakers could weigh the needs of all the state's priorities—many of them with a large price tags.
"What we don't have here is a disagreement that there is a need that should be served. What we do potentially have a disagreement about is how to go about doing that," he said.
The program could be operational by summer school in July.
WCCO reached out to Drazkowski's office, and haven't received a response.
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The WCCO Staff is a group of experienced journalists who bring you the content on WCCO.com.
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