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Legislation to provide free breakfast to public school students across the state is moving forward in the General Assembly with committees set to review the cost.
Sen. Danica Roem, D-Manassas, and Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, D-Alexandria, are leading the charge after a similar effort fell short last year. Bennett-Parker鈥檚聽聽was shelved by the House Appropriations Committee due to competing priorities while Roem鈥檚聽聽was following an聽聽by Gov. Glenn Youngkin directing聽a work group to evaluate the program鈥檚 potential impact.
鈥淐hildren cannot learn if they are hungry. This bill is an investment in their education and would maximize all of the other education investments we are making,鈥� Bennett-Parker said during a House Education subcommittee meeting on Tuesday.
Roem stressed the importance of school breakfasts in improving attendance, an ongoing challenge since the pandemic, and noted the proposal could also alleviate meal debt for families.
鲍苍诲别谤听听补苍诲听, schools would be required to join the federal National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, offering breakfast at no cost to any students who request it. Schools could only withhold meals with parental consent.
The Virginia Department of Education would oversee reimbursing schools for each breakfast served under the proposed legislation, with the limit of one breakfast per student per day. The bill also eliminated an outdated provision related to the federal breakfast program, streamlining the process for universal free school breakfasts.
In a shorter legislative session with a more focused scope, the bills are gaining strong support from groups like the School Nutrition Association of Virginia, the Virginia Education Association and No Kid Hungry Virginia.
鈥淲e know that when a child shows up to school and is able to have a full belly, they are able to learn better,鈥� said Emily Moore, a senior policy analyst for Voices For Virginia鈥檚 Children, during the Senate Education and Health subcommittee meeting on Jan. 16.
While opposition has been minimal, Dr. Sheila Furey raised concerns at the same meeting about the lack of nutritional guidelines in Roem鈥檚 bill. She urged lawmakers to prioritize a 鈥渉igh fat, high protein breakfast鈥� over processed foods to better support students鈥� health.
Christina Berta, chief operating officer for the Virginia Department of Education, opposed the legislation, advocating instead for the state to encourage school divisions to adopt Community Eligibility Provisions (CEP). She argued that CEP is a better approach to providing meals for students in need, coupled with leveraging available funding through a student-weighted funding formula.
鈥淸The CEP] program has not demonstrated universal free breakfast or meals 鈥� success in other states,鈥� Berta said, noting that the agency has detailed information about meal access in a recent task force report.
Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg, echoed his concerns from last year, stating that he could not support the legislation when affluent localities, such as those in Northern Virginia, could afford to pay for their students鈥� breakfasts.
鈥淚 cannot in good conscience support this, and I know they鈥檙e going to say, 鈥極h, that mean old Republican wants to starve kids,鈥欌�� Peake said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to starve kids, but I don鈥檛 want rich parents not taking care of their kids. The money should go to the kids who need it and this does not do that.鈥�
In response, Roem argued that students in need exist in every part of the state, regardless of the wealth of their localities. She noted that even families in affluent areas might qualify for free and reduced meals.
The Department of Planning and Budgeting聽聽that the Virginia Department of Education estimates the legislation would add an annual state cost of at least $29 million starting in fiscal year 2026. According to Roem, the projected cost has dropped from $40 million because the bill would eliminate expenses tied to existing breakfast programs.
She also highlighted that the measure would save families $315 per child each year.
In November, the Youngkin administration released a聽聽estimating that providing universal free breakfast and lunch for all students would cost Virginia $201.5 million annually.
鈥淕iven this cost, concerns regarding the sustainability of any future program of this nature in the commonwealth as well as the impact on local school divisions should future state funding be reduced or eliminated must be considered,鈥� the report noted. 鈥淥nce funding is provided, any removal of that state funding would result in expected services to families, thus resulting in an unfunded mandate and burden on local school divisions.鈥�
Roem criticized the administration鈥檚 approach, arguing they 鈥渕issed the assignment鈥� by conflating universal breakfast and lunch programs. She noted that while the report identified eight states with universal meals programs 鈥� California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Vermont, and Minnesota 鈥� it omitted Pennsylvania, a state with divided government that has聽聽offering free breakfast.
鈥淚f Pennsylvania can do this, there鈥檚 no reason Virginia can鈥檛,鈥� Roem said, adding that she believes the commonwealth is in a better financial position to support such a measure.
The breakfast bills have advanced from the Senate and House Education committees and now head to their respective budget committees for consideration.
