Poll: Pennsylvania voters want to see universal free lunches in all public schools

Nearly eight in 10 Pennsylvania voters support implementing universal free school lunches across the state.

All Pennsylvania public school students are entitled to a free breakfast, but not lunch. An overwhelming majority of voters in the state think that should change.

According to a new poll from Susquehanna Polling and Research, nearly eight in 10 Pennsylvania voters (77%) support universal free lunches for students in K-12.

“Pennsylvania voters might be divided on who they choose at the ballot box, but this remains one issue that unites nearly everyone,” said Melissa Froehlich Green, communications chair for the School Nutrition Association of PA.

Pennsylvania currently provides free breakfast to all students in schools that participate in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs. The poll shows voters in the commonwealth want the issue to be a higher legislative priority.

Some lawmakers have called for the implementation of a universal free lunch program.

Last year, Sen. Lindsey Williams (D-Allegheny) and Rep. Emily Kinkead (D-Allegheny) introduced bills in the Senate and House calling for $25 million from the state budget to be used for a no-cost lunch program. Both bills remain in committee awaiting a vote.

“No child should go hungry or feel shame about not being able to afford a meal in school,” Kinkead said in a memo to the House. “Research has also shown time and again that school meals are as critical to learning as textbooks and teachers.”

One out of every eight kids in Pennsylvania goes hungry, according to the School Nutrition Association of PA, but as many as one in five experience hunger in rural areas. Studies have shown that school meals reduce childhood hunger, improve child nutrition and wellness, and enhance child development.