KANSAS CITY – A Missouri state representative is working across the aisle to institute free school lunches in Missouri.
“I think the time has come,” said Branson-area Rep. Brian Seitz (R-156th). “We have proven during the pandemic that the lunches can be paid for and students can receive a free lunch and/or breakfast. If we can do it during a pandemic, we can do it when times are looking much better.”
A recent Syracuse University study showed that free lunch programs in New York for elementary and middle school students increased performance in math and English, and lowered students’ average Body Mass Index (BMI).
Seitz added that Missouri currently has a budget surplus, so with federal-state partnership the plan can get done without burdening local school districts.
His proposal says that every public school will provide each student with one free breakfast or one free lunch each day that the student is in school. “It's a very simple, basically one sentence bill,” he said.
The program would be totally optional to each student, he added. “Studies do show that students learn better when they're not hungry, when they're focused on their studies, and so forth.”
Seitz, a Republican, has surprised some with his proposal to provide a free service to Missourians. But he said that a period of having a budget surplus is the perfect time to do this. Plus, he said, it’s something that incarcerated individuals get — so surely, it can be provided to the state’s children.
Seitz said he hasn’t heard much opposition, but there hasn't been much debate on the House floor yet with many new legislators being sworn in just recently.