Free school meals extended for 400,000 Massachusetts students
BOSTON - Four hundred thousand students in Massachusetts will continue to get free school lunches this year.
As part of the new state budget, Gov. Charlie Baker signed a one-year extension of the program that's been providing children with meals at no cost for the last two years.
Massachusetts is the fifth state to guarantee these meals for the upcoming school year.
Project Bread celebrated the move, saying lunch participation in March 2022 was 42.3% higher than it was pre-pandemic in March 2019.
"This is a moment in time when all our eyes have been opened to the vast disparities faced by the children of Massachusetts when accessing the resources needed to be healthy and learn," Project Bread CEO Erin McAleer said in a statement. "While the road to equity is long and complex, this extension of School Meals for All is a straightforward and significant step in ensuring students are ready to learn next year."
