Universal free school breakfast is coming to ArkansasUniversal free school breakfast is coming to Arkansas

It’s been a busy week at the state level with action being taken on a handful of bills in several states, including Arkansas, Arizona and South Dakota. 

Here’s the latest in school nutrition legislation. 

Arkansas students will now receive free school breakfast

Universal free school breakfast is coming to Arkansas students. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed SB 59 into law which will provide free daily breakfast at school for all public school students in the state. 

Students will start receiving the free meals at the start of next school year. 

The bill, which was introduced last month, had bipartisan support. The state will now join Pennsylvania in offering universal free school breakfast. 

Arizona House advances bill that would ban certain additives in school meals

A bill introduced in Arizona that would ban certain dyes and additives in school meals is one step closer to becoming law. 

The Arizona House has passed HB 2164 and the bill is now on its way to the Senate. 

If passed, the bill would ban potassium bromate, propylparaben, titanium dioxide, yellow dye No. 5, blue dye No. 1 and more from being used in school meals. 

The bill is one of the many pieces of legislation introduced recently that would ban certain additives in school meals. 

 In November, lawmakers in Texas introduced HB 1290 which would ban brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, azodicarbonamide, butylated hydroxyanisole and titanium dioxide in free or reduced-price school meals throughout the state. 

In addition, California Governor Gavin Newsome signed A.B. 2316 into law last September which bans the use of red dye No. 40, yellow dye No. 5, yellow dye No. 6, blue dye No. 1, blue dye No. 2 and green dye No. 3. from being used in public school meals. 

The FDA also recently banned the additive red dye No. 3 from inclusion in food and beverages. 

California bill would expand summer meal access to include caregivers

A California bill seeks to expand summer meal access in the state. 

Introduced by Senator Jerry McNerney, S.B. 711 would allow parents and guardians to also receive meals from summer meals sites alongside their children. 

In addition, the bill would direct the state’s Department of Education to seek federal funding to support the cost of providing meals to caregivers. 

“More than one in four California households with children are food insecure. That amounts to more than 1 million households facing hunger in our state,” Senator McNerney said in a statement. “SB 711 will help combat hunger by expanding California’s free summer meals program to ensure that parents, guardians, and caregivers can also access meals during summer months.”

The bill would go into effect in summer 2026 if it is signed into law. 

Wisconsin is the latest state to introduce a universal free school meals bill

A group of lawmakers have introduced a universal free school meals bill in Wisconsin. AB 48 would provide free meals each day at school to all K-12 students in the state. 

If signed into law, the state will join others including California and Maine in providing universal free school meals. A companion bill has also been introduced in the Senate.

Along with Wisconsin, several other states currently have active universal free school meals bills, including Alaska, Missouri and Oregon. 

South Dakota lawmakers say no to universal free school meals

A bill that would have established a universal free school meals program in South Dakota is now dead. 

House lawmakers in the state voted 54-39 to not advance HB 1475 which would have provided free breakfast and lunch each day at school for all public school students in the state.

North Dakota is not the only state that has failed to pass a universal free school meals bill this legislative session. Utah lawmakers also said no to a universal free school meals bill in their state earlier this month.