There’s another push at the New Hampshire State House this year to make sure kids aren’t hungry while they’re learning — and it’s coming as advocates say families across the state are under extra strain due to inflation and rising cost of living expenses.
Lawmakers in the House and Senate have introduced several bills aimed at addressing food access in local schools, including by making sure the kids who already qualify for free and reduced lunch programs are actually signed up.
One bill sponsored by Rep. Laura Telerski, a Democrat from Nashua, would enroll kids in the program if their families are enrolled in Medicaid, since eligibility for both programs is determined by a family’s household income. That approach is already used in 43 other states. “It really just makes sense to have the departments collaborate,” Telerski said, “because the income verification is already there on one side.”
Similar legislation has been rejected in the past, in part due to concerns that it would cost the state more money, since the state’s education funding formula requires it to pay more money to local districts based on the number of students who are enrolled in meal assistance programs.
Telerski and other advocates acknowledged that could be a roadblock again this year, as lawmakers face a tight state budget outlook. But supporters say they plan to make the case that these programs are worth the investment. “We know that school meals in addition to staving off hunger in general results for kids in improved academic performance, reduced behavioral problems, fewer trips to the nurse for stomach aches, stronger attendance rates and higher graduation rates,” Laura Milliken, who leads the advocacy group New Hampshire Hunger Solutions.
Milliken said her organization estimates that about 10,000 children are eligible for income-based school meal assistance but are not yet enrolled. She says linking Medicaid enrollment with school meal assistance can benefit local communities by providing a more accurate count of the number of kids in poverty, which can unlock additional state or federal support.
“Schools are now serving kids living in poverty but are not sort of getting credit for it in the state school funding formula,” she said. “So it would more accurately count children living in poverty in a way that would benefit schools.”
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