New Hampshire
Advocates say bipartisan school meals bill could make a dent in child hunger – New Hampshire Bulletin
Tricia LaBelle has worked in school kitchens near Portsmouth for years. She’s seen the struggles that accompany families applying for free or reduced-price lunch meals. But it wasn’t until her son entered kindergarten that she fully grasped the challenge.
“I remember getting my first meal application and looking at it, as a person who would have qualified, and thinking, ‘No way – how embarrassing,’” she told lawmakers last month. “I’d have to fill out this packet and send it back in with him to give to his teacher.”
LaBelle knew the value the application would provide. Depending on their income level, kids on free or reduced-price meal plans pay 40 cents for lunch and 30 cents for breakfast – or nothing at all. The full price for lunches in New Hampshire schools can hover around $3 to $4 a day.
But LaBelle faced a bigger force: shame. “I was way too concerned that his teacher would then label him as a ‘free and reduced’ child,” she said. “That was a risk that I wasn’t willing to take.”
In most public schools, this is the only option for eligible families for the meal discounts – those making up to 185 percent of the federal poverty level. If they want to save money, they must fill out a physical application and return it to school, often in the hands of an embarrassed child. And LaBelle, who is now an advocate for New Hampshire Hunger Solutions, has seen other challenges. The schools provide breakfasts, but only if the students can get them in time to make their first class. If their bus is late, some kids don’t eat until noon.
Advocates say there are a number of fixes the state could make to improve the picture. And this year, lawmakers are showing interest. This month, the New Hampshire Senate gave support to a wide-ranging bill to expand public school meals in New Hampshire. Senate Bill 499 would increase the number of schools offering breakfast, help subsidize an approach to deliver breakfast between classes, incentivize healthier meals, and allow parents to more easily apply for free and reduced-price meals.
The Senate voted unanimously to approve it Thursday. The legislation moves next to the Senate Finance Committee, and will need final approval by the full Senate before heading on to the House.
Anti-hunger advocates say action is necessary. The U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey has found that as of October 2023, 44 percent of New Hampshire homes reported having “insufficient food,” a label that includes those who did not have enough food and those who had enough but not always the kind they wanted. That includes 50 percent of homes with children.
Sponsored by Hopkinton Democratic Sen. Becky Whitley and Bedford Republican Sen. Denise Ricciardi, SB 499 requires all school districts to make both breakfast and lunch available at school. Currently, state statute only requires at least one meal to be served.
“A child’s brain is built from the bottom up, with strong foundations essential to later physical, cognitive. and emotional well-being,” said Ricciardi. “We must ensure that early environments are working to support strong foundations. That’s why school meals are critical to young children.”
The bill would also help school districts implement an approach to nutrition known as “breakfast after the bell.” That approach allows students to get breakfast between their first class and lunch, eliminating the need to arrive at school earlier and eat it then. Under the bill, schools that want to launch that program would get reimbursement for any necessary equipment from the state’s Department of Education – provided that at least 40 percent of their students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
SB 499 requires that all school districts participate in the National School Breakfast Program unless the district has its own breakfast program or has fewer than 10 percent of its students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The bill also requires those districts that do participate in the program to collect statistics on how many students eat them.
The bill gives incentives to schools that improve the nutritional quality of their meals. Those schools that have adopted a school wellness policy, a document outlining how to promote student health, and who have met the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s child nutrition requirements for their meals could get reimbursement for the meals they serve from the Department of Education.
The legislation also seeks to make the process of applying for free or reduced-price meals easier for parents: It would require school districts to offer both online and physical applications in an effort to give parents more flexibility.
That application process has been politically contentious. During the COVID-19 pandemic, New Hampshire schools used federal funds to provide universal school meals, and lower-income parents did not need to apply. Now, families eligible for the subsidized meals once again need to apply. Republican lawmakers have opposed allowing New Hampshire to participate in “Medicaid Direct Certification,” a program that would let schools automatically enroll children into the program by determining their income from state Medicaid data.
And the bill requires the state Department of Education to participate in the Summer EBT program, which lets families eligible for free or reduced-price meals to continue receiving benefits on an EBT card through the summer.
The costs of the bill are still being worked out, Whitley said at a hearing. As currently written, the bill funds several of the initiatives with $1 – a placeholder amount that allows the governor to request to draw on more funds in the future.
To New Hampshire Hunger Solutions Director Laura Milliken, the state’s school meal supply acts like a power grid. Every school in the state provides meals, she told lawmakers last month. But not all have the best infrastructure to do it.
And while the federal government has made funding available for meals for lower-income families, the actual participation in those programs in the Granite State can be low.
“The federal nutrition programs that exist to help people in need are poorly connected within New Hampshire,” Milliken said.
Other advocacy organizations have rallied behind the bill, arguing in testimony that its benefits could extend beyond the state’s schools.
Nancy Vaughan, government relations director for the American Heart Association in New Hampshire, praised the incentives for nutritious food and said healthy eating habits benefit kids into adulthood. Dawn McKinney, policy director at New Hampshire Legal Assistance, said the organization supports any easing in applications for food benefit programs, noting that students in families who are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) automatically receive free and reduced-price lunches.
When Renee Berkley moved to Alstead from Utah and began volunteering in the school system, she was surprised at the amount of hardship she saw.
“All I kept thinking was the Aerosmith song ‘Livin’ on the Edge,’ ” she told lawmakers. “There’s so many families living on the edge that are barely making ends meet.”
Berkley pointed to other New England states, such as Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont, that surround New Hampshire and currently provide free meals to all public school students.
“So what message are you sending people who moved to New Hampshire like myself?” she said. “What is your priority? Is it ‘live free and die’? Is it ‘live free and be poor and hungry’? Or can we turn this around?”
The federal government has activated the New Hampshire National Guard’s 157th Air Refueling Wing in connection with the war with Iran.
“I’ve had a briefing myself, a classified briefing, but it’s really important on the messaging on this that we really coordinate with the Pentagon,” Gov. Kelly Ayotte told reporters during a press briefing following Wednesday’s Executive Council meeting.
Ayotte said she was unable to share additional details about the nature of the New Hampshire National Guard’s activity related to the conflict, including how many guard members have been activated or what role they are playing.
“We’re going to respect what messaging comes out of the Pentagon just to make sure that our men and women in uniform are fully protected and that we aren’t providing any information that could be used in a way that would be harmful to them,” Ayotte said.
In a statement Thursday, Ayotte said the unit had been deployed in late February to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in support of the operation.
Earlier this week, Pentagon officials confirmed that members of the Vermont National Guard were involved in attacks against Iran over the weekend, though our news partners at Vermont Public were not able to confirm additional details on the nature of the operation.
During the briefing with local reporters, Ayotte also stressed her support for servicemembers and those close to them.
“I have such respect for our men and women in uniform,” Ayotte said. “As you know, I come from a military family, and they have our full support, and we appreciate them and their families, and obviously anyone who is serving right now, and my thoughts and prayers go out to those who have lost someone that they love.”
By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – While Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte has said she opposes increasing highway toll rates across the state, the Senate voted Thursday to increase rates for out-of-state license plate holders.
It now goes to the House for consideration.
This would be a $1 increase for those who have out of state plates going through the tolls at Hooksett, Hampton and Bedford for out-of-state plates, a 75 cent hike for those taking Hampton’s Exit 2 and on the Spaulding turnpike at Rochester, and a 50 cent hike for those taking the exit off I-93 to Hooksett.
An analysis in the bill shows that this would increase toll revenue by $53.3 million in fiscal year 2027 and go up each year to generate $81.4 million a year in 2036.
Senate Bill 627 passed on a voice vote with two Republicans, Senators Regina Birdsell of Hampstead and William Gannon of Sandown opposing.
Senator Mark E. McConkey, R-Freedom, moved to take the bill off the table and offered an amendment.
He said the last time there was a systemwide increase to the turnpike toll was 19 years ago.
“I am sure we could all agree the cost of operations…has continued to escalate when revenue is not rising with it,” and he noted that with an enterprise fund, the state can only spend what it takes in.
The state has just completed a 10-year highway plan and there was a $400 million shortfall in projects that could not be paid for under the current income.
McConkey said the measure would not increase tolls for New Hampshire drivers with a state license plate.
“Why don’t we ask our neighbors,” to pay a toll increase. “We are getting the best of all worlds,” by passing the bill, he said, including “protecting our residents” and having resources for improvements to the turnpike system.
Sen. Gannon, R-Sandown, asked McConkey if there are any studies on impacts near the border on businesses.
If implemented, McConkey said the state will be the 27th lowest in per mile cost still. McConkey said the bill would also increase from seven to 14 days the amount of time for those with NH license plates to pay for a toll adding there are other states that also have different rates for out-of-state users.
The Hampton toll cost would go from $2 to $3, while Hooksett and Bedford would rise from $1 to $2 for out-of-state plates.
New Hampshire currently has the lowest rate per mile among states with tolls roads.
The governor said she does not support a toll increase.
“We are not going to put a burden on drivers for a toll increase,” Ayotte said. “Families are struggling.”
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