School Committee supports free school lunch state legislation

  Revere schools provide free meals to all students, and the school leadership is throwing its support behind a measure calling for universal free school meals throughout the state.

  For the past several years during the pandemic, school lunches and breakfasts have been free for all students, but that could change with the end of the pandemic for some school districts. A bill currently in the state legislature would continue free meals for all students. Costs not reimbursed through federal funds for the meals would be borne by the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

  At its meeting on Tuesday, April 19, the School Committee supported a letter presented by School Committeewoman Stacey Bronsdon-Rizzo asking state legislators to support the bill. “Revere is lucky that we do have free meals for breakfast and lunch, but this would also help any cities and towns that do not receive it,” she said.

  Bronsdon-Rizzo pointed to the support the bill received from other districts when it came time to back legislation important to the Revere schools, such as the enactment of the Student Opportunity Act.

  “Mrs. Rizzo makes a really good point that when something is good for kids, we should support it, even if it doesn’t directly benefit our students in Revere,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Dianne Kelly. “In this case, I am trying to put myself in the shoes of schools and my superintendent colleagues in other districts where kids have had free meals for three years now, and all of the sudden they are going to have to go back to paying. I think about the stigma that might cause for children, especially if their families have been adversely impacted financially because of Covid.”

  While the legislation will not have a direct impact on Revere students, Kelly said it will benefit many students across Massachusetts.

  School Committee Member Aisha Milbury-Ellis suggested that the committee look at backing a petition drive in support of the universal free meal legislation.