North Carolina bill would offer universal free lunch to students

A new bill introduced in North Carolina aims to provide universal free lunch to K-12 students in the state.

Under the Child Care Act, public schools would be required to provide lunch at no cost to students during the school day.

The state’s Department of Public Instruction would be responsible for overseeing the program and paying the difference between the federal funding received for school meals from the United States Department of Agriculture and the cost of providing the meals. 

Other states, including New York, Colorado, Massachusetts and Vermont, also recently introduced legislation to provide school meals to students at no cost.