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| Democratic Legislator Introduces Bipartisan School Lunch Bill
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 4, 2024 This morning, Rep. Kadyn Wittman (D-Minnehaha) introduced bipartisan legislation to reimburse school districts in South Dakota for free and reduced meals for students. House Bill 1042 will make sure all of our kids receive a healthy meal while at school. A broad group of stakeholders including school administrators, nutrition professionals, nonprofit organizations, lawmakers and parents helped to craft this legislation. “So, it’s really exciting. Today, months of hard work have culminated into the introduction of a school lunch bill here in South Dakota,” said Rep. Wittman. “The bill that we have introduced today, alongside the support of dozens of community partners and stakeholders across the state, would cover the cost of lunches for families that fall into the reduced category. So, it just gives a little bit of extra help to our most vulnerable and marginalized families in a time when everyone’s bills seem to be getting a little bit higher.” According to Feeding South Dakota, 1 in 9 children in the state are food insecure. A recent report from Syracuse University found that access to free and reduced school lunches can lower chronic absenteeism by 5.4%. According to the School Meal Association, students with access to free school breakfast have been shown to achieve 17.5% higher scores on standardized math tests. Receiving reduced school lunch also lowers childhood obesity rates by at least 17% and can reduce poor health in students by at least 29%, according to the Food Research and Action Center. “Not only is this a bill that will impact South Dakota’s youngest kiddos and invest in our future, it is also an extremely low-cost investment,” said Rep. Wittman. “For the state to cover the cost of reduced meals across South Dakota for an entire school year, it’s less than $600,000. That’s a price tag that I am more than comfortable with in order to support South Dakota’s kids and families.” Democratic Senator Liz Larson; Democratic Representatives Linda Duba, Eric Emery and Kameron Nelson; Republican Senator Michael Rohl; and Republican Representative Tyler Tordsen have already signed onto the bill. Rep. Wittman is hoping more Republican lawmakers sign on as well. If you would like to interview Rep. Wittman about the bill, please contact the South Dakota Democratic Party Communications Director Krista Burns at 651-245-8731 or krista@sddp.org. For questions, you may also contact Dan at dan@sddp.org or contact the state party office by phone at 605-271-5405 or 605-940-3071. Paid for by the South Dakota Democratic Party | www.sddp.org |