FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 19, 2024

Arizona Legislature and Governor Hobbs investment in school meals in the FY-25 budget will help tens of thousands of kids across the state.

PHOENIX, AZ – On Saturday, the Arizona Legislature passed the state budget for fiscal year 2025 which includes a $3.8 million investment in school meals for low-income children attending public and charter schools that operate the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP). This marks the first time in the state’s history that general funding has been used to support school meals.

The state funding will specifically be used to cover a copay of 40 cents for lunch and 30 cents for breakfast that families within a certain income threshold are required to pay for those meals. That threshold, determined by the federal government, is between 130% and 185% of the federal poverty line, which in 2024, is between $39,000 and $55,500 annually for a family of four. These copays have been covered in Arizona since January 2023 by federal resources made available to states during the pandemic, but that temporary funding expired at the end of the last school year, making the state budget inclusion even more significant.

“We are so excited and grateful to see our state lawmakers and Governor Hobbs make feeding kids a top priority,” said April Bradham, President and CEO of the Arizona Food Bank Network. “This program covered family copays for more than 7 million meals in School Year 2023-24, which goes a long way toward improving child nutrition and overall food security across our state.”

According to a comprehensive statewide assessment by the ASU Food Policy and Environment Research Group published in a 2023 report, consumption of school meals is directly linked with greater food security, reduced obesity rates, and improved physical and mental health. School meals are also critical for students’ attendance, academic achievement, and standardized test scores. The cost-modeling scenarios detailed in the ASU assessment informed the state’s temporary investment.

With the studied benefits of school meals, school nutrition staff and program providers worried about the impact that a lack of funding for school meal copays would have on children and their households. Alleviating this worry, the state’s investment allows school nutrition staff more time to focus on menu planning, local food procurement, and culturally relevant recipe development. Importantly, it has also nearly eliminated school meal debt in many districts at a time when inflation is evident everywhere.

“Having the state reimburse schools for these meal copays instead of families is a game-changer for us,” said Patti Bilbrey, President of the School Nutrition Association of Arizona and Director of Nutrition Services at Scottsdale Unified School District. “When federal resources expired at the end of the school year, we worried about having to go back to our families and students to explain that they’d have to start paying again. They’re barely making ends meet as it is, and 70 cents a day for multiple kids adds up.”

The $3.8 million first-time investment of state resources into school meals benefits Arizona’s children, families, and communities, and AzFBN and its hunger-fighting partners are encouraged and grateful to see it.

Contact: Ashley St. Thomas, AzFBN Director of Public Policy, (857) 225-0297 or [email protected]