Giving Compass' Take:

• Anti-hunger advocates are pushing results for free school meals through the expansion of the Community Eligibility Program. 

• How can donors can help address some of these school meal issues? 

• Read more about the benefit of free lunch for all. 

A Vermont bill that would make school meals free for all students is just one example of how anti-hunger advocates are pushing in the direction of universal school meals.

Concerns over lunch shaming, unpaid meal debt and proposals from the Trump administration to tighten eligibility for nutrition programs are being met with efforts to cover meal costs for more children who don’t already qualify for free meals.

Vermont has a “visionary approach,” said Crystal FitzSimons, the director of school and out-of-school time programs for the Food Research and Action Center, an advocacy organization. But she added, “There are a lot of conversations about how we can maximize access.”

Meanwhile, she adds, the Community Eligibility Program, in which schools with high percentages of students qualifying for free meals extend that program to all students, has “shed the light” on the benefits of not having to determine at the school level which students can or cannot receive a hot meal.

In Oregon, last year, legislation passed that provides $40 million to expand free meals to students in two ways. First, it provides funds for schools that can’t afford to take advantage of CEP because they have a lower percentage of students eligible for reimbursable meals. Second, it increases eligibility for a free or reduced-price meal from 185% of the federal poverty line — about $47,600 for a family of four — to 300%, or $77,250.

The fund was part of the state's Student Success Act legislative package, which is expected to add $1 billion to the state’s education budget each year. Because it’s tied to a new tax, the updated rules will go into effect this fall.

Read the full article about free school meals by Linda Jacobson at Education Dive.