OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal announced Tuesday that 70% of public students have access to free school meals this year. The state will need more funding to keep up that level of nutrition support.
Reykdal’s announcement follows the passage of HB 1238 during the 2023 state legislative session. Primary sponsored by State Representative Marcus Riccelli (D), the policy aimed at reducing childhood hunger across the state.
The policy requires that school districts provide free breakfast and lunch to any student who requests it as long as 30% or more enrolled students at their school meet the federal eligibility threshold for reduced price lunches.
According to Reykdal’s office, 1,269 schools offered free meals during the 2023-34 academic year, with that number jumping to 1,523 meals this year.
Several schools in Spokane County qualified for offering free meals over the 2024-25 period, including Brentwood Elementary, Colbert Elementary and Liberty Junior High & Elementary.
Reykdal says that the legislature’s meal programs expansion, which utilizes a combination of US Department of Agriculture, state and local school district funding, is empowering students to focus on learning.
“When students participate in universal meal programs, their participation can save their families up to $1,200 per year that they might otherwise be spending on meals during the school day,” Reykdal said in an office press release.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused an uptick in food insecurity amongst Washington families, with about 8.3% of households suffering from a lack of consistent food access from 2020 to 2022.
The problem has a particularly negative impact on children, who suffer academically and emotionally without proper nutrition. Feeding America estimates that 1 in 6 children in Washington are food insecure, compared to 1 in 5 nationally.
“Students are at school for 7 hours per day and meals are part of the school day. We strongly believe that those meals should be provided for free, similar to textbooks and other items that schools provide to support student learning and well-being,” Reykdal said.
While the legislature’s expansion of school meal access has allowed more students to avoid food insecurity, the Office of the Superintendent is navigating the additional financial pressure caused by that success.
Under the current policy framework, about 50% of Washington students qualify for free meals compared to just 46.8% during the 2019-20 school year. The increasing number of students who qualify, combined with rising meal costs, make the current funding level untenable.
Reykdal’s office requested an additional $17.6 million from the legislature in the 2025-27 state operating budget to cover the cost of additional free meal program participation and the rising cost of school meals.
When legislators meet in January, they’ll ultimately determine how the state handles the school meal funding concerns raised by the superintendent.
Given that control of the the state legislature are up for grabs this election season, how voters cast their ballots this Nov. 5 could have a consequential impact on how student nutrition is handled by the Evergreen State.
