By Cathy Cook, Albuquerque Journal
Nov. 3, 2023
New Mexico’s schools and schools across the country could see more federal dollars for meals next year.
Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., introduced legislation to double the federal reimbursement for public school meals by 45 cents for every lunch served and 28 cents for every breakfast served.
“We in New Mexico are one of the first states to start providing healthy school meals to every student, and we were able to do that in part by leveraging the federal meal reimbursements that come through the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program,” said Emily Wildau, senior research and policy analyst for New Mexico Voices for Children.
New Mexico passed a law in March to make school lunch and breakfast free to all students. The state committed $22 million to funding school lunches for the 2023-2024 school year. According to Associated Press reporting, the law could require between $27 million and $40 million in recurring funding from the state’s general fund.
Read more at the Albuquerque Journal