Massachusetts lawmakers approve universal free school meals for another year

Massachusetts is set to continue offering universal free school meals this fall after the state House and Senate approved its fiscal year 2025 budget bill and school nutrition professionals in New Hampshire have an opportunity to receive new farm-to-school grant funding thanks to a bill signed into law.

Here’s the latest in school nutrition legislation.

Massachusetts lawmakers approve universal free meals for another year

Lawmakers in Massachusetts have passed the state’s fiscal year 2025 budget bill which earmarks $170 million to continue providing universal free school meals for the upcoming school year. The bill now heads to Governor Maura Healey for her signature.  

Massachusetts began offering free meals to all public school students in the state last fall. During the first year of the free meals, Massachusetts students ate a record number of school meals, according to data released by the Healey-Driscoll Administration.

The state is one of nine that that has decided to continue offering universal free meals to students after the expiration of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrition waivers which allowed schools across the country to feed all kids for free during the height of the pandemic.

 See which states currently offer universal free meals via the map below:

New Hampshire to pilot farm-to-school program

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu has signed HB 1678 into law which will require the state to pilot a two-year farm to school grant program. The $250,000 program will reimburse school nutrition programs who use foods sourced from the state on their menus.

To be considered eligible for the grant funding, schools must be part of the National School Lunch Program. The state’s Department of Agriculture will assemble a selection committee comprised of farmers, childhood nutrition experts and more to select the grant recipients.

The state is the latest to offer grant funding to support farm-to-school initiatives. New York recently announced it will award $1.5 million in grant funding to expand farm-to-school programs across the state.

At the federal level, the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded a record-breaking $14.3 million in farm-to-school grant funding earlier this month as part of its Patrick Leahy Farm To School Program.