WASHINGTON — Amid persistent child hunger and food insecurity in the United States, lawmakers and advocates on Wednesday stressed the importance of school meal programs during a U.S. Senate Agriculture subcommittee hearing.
Hunger severely impacts kids’ emotional and physical well-being and can lead to negative outcomes in school, research has shown. Last year, 47.4 million people lived in food-insecure households, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Federally funded efforts, such as the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, provide free and reduced-cost meals to students across the country.
Advocates say these programs play a crucial role in helping to reduce child hunger and urged the panel to expand them.
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“School lunch should always be free and definitely free of judgment,” said Sen. John Fetterman, who chairs the Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research.
“Honestly, it shouldn’t be a conversation — it would be like asking the kids to pay for the school bus every morning or to pay for their own textbooks at school,” Fetterman said.
Fetterman and fellow Pennsylvania Democrat Sen. Bob Casey introduced two bills in June aiming to expand free or reduced-price meals access for kids. Part of the initiatives also call for amending the Community Eligibility Provision, which allows schools and school districts in low-income areas to offer free meal options to all students.
Fetterman also sponsored the Universal School Meals Program Act, an effort introduced by independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders last May, which would “provide free breakfast, lunch, and dinner to every student — without demanding they prove they are poor enough to deserve help getting three meals a day,” according to Sanders’ summary of the bill. U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, introduced a companion bill.
Subcommittee ranking member Mike Braun of Indiana said he introduced the American Food for American Schools Act last July with Ohio Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown in an effort “to better prioritize and support the use of American food in school meal programs.”
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That bipartisan bill would increase requirements for school meals to include U.S. products.
States a model
Crystal FitzSimons, interim president of the Food Research & Action Center, pointed out that eight states have implemented policies that offer school meals to all students, regardless of one’s household income. Those states are California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico and Vermont.
The national nonprofit aims to reduce poverty-related hunger in the U.S. through research, advocacy and policy solutions.
“While those eight states are showing us what is possible, there are critical steps the subcommittee and Congress should take to enhance the reach and impact of school meals nationwide,” FitzSimons said.
As one piece of the puzzle, FitzSimons said Congress can “ensure that all children nationwide are hunger-free and ready to learn while they are at school by allowing all schools to offer meals to all their students at no charge” and the Universal School Meals Program Act “creates that path.”
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Meg Bruening, professor and department head at Pennsylvania State University’s Department of Nutritional Sciences, said “the school meal programs in the U.S. provide a critical safety net for almost 30 million children with meals each year” — comprising 60% of children in the country.
Bruening said these school meal programs align closely with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, “ensuring a variety of healthy foods are offered to children while at school, where children spend most of their waking and eating hours.”
The guidelines, developed by the USDA and the Health and Human Services Department, are updated every five years.
Summer EBT
Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock underscored how child hunger increases in the summer months when kids lack access to regular meals at school.
Thirty-seven states, the District of Columbia and multiple territories and tribal nations opted in this year to a new effort, known as Summer EBT, to feed kids during the long summer months.
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Despite opt-outs by GOP states including SD, summer kids’ food program seen as success
Also called Sun Bucks, the USDA initiative provides low-income families with school-aged children a grocery-buying benefit of $120 per child for the summer.
But 13 states, including Georgia and South Dakota, chose not to participate in the program in 2024. The USDA said states have until Jan. 1 to submit a notice of intent if they plan to participate in the program next year.
Warnock said he hopes state leaders reverse their position on Summer EBT.
“Unfortunately, my home state — the state of Georgia — has not opted in to Sun Bucks, with some officials saying it does not result in higher nutritional outcomes for students, and that existing programs are ‘effective,’” he said.
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“I heard our state leadership say: ‘We don’t need it,’” he added. “I’m still trying to figure out who this ‘we’ is — for whom are you speaking when you say: ‘We don’t need it?’”
A spokesperson for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has said the governor has concerns about the program’s dietary standards and cost.
South Dakota State Jackrabbits (4-4) at Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (4-2)
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Flagstaff, Arizona; Wednesday, 8 p.m. EST
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Jackrabbits -2.5; over/under is 149.5
BOTTOM LINE: Northern Arizona faces South Dakota State after Ryan Abelman scored 20 points in Northern Arizona’s 79-72 victory over the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks.
The Lumberjacks have gone 4-0 at home. Northern Arizona scores 81.2 points and has outscored opponents by 5.5 points per game.
The Jackrabbits are 0-2 in road games. South Dakota State ranks seventh in the Summit League shooting 30.9% from 3-point range.
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Northern Arizona makes 47.9% of its shots from the field this season, which is 7.5 percentage points higher than South Dakota State has allowed to its opponents (40.4%). South Dakota State averages 71.6 points per game, 4.1 fewer than the 75.7 Northern Arizona allows.
TOP PERFORMERS: Zack Davidson is shooting 62.1% and averaging 16.8 points for the Lumberjacks. Abelman is averaging 2.5 made 3-pointers.
Jaden Jackson is averaging 12.1 points and 1.5 steals for the Jackrabbits. Joe Sayler is averaging 11.1 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
PIERRE — Gov. Larry Rhoden’s first budget address as governor is in the books.
And it was a “straightforward” budget without many surprises, as multiple lawmakers told the Argus Leader.
Rhoden presented his recommended budget Dec. 2 for South Dakota’s fiscal year 2027 at the State Capitol Building.
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The Republican governor asked lawmakers to budget $7.44 billion in state fiscal year 2027, up from the $7.28 billion recommended by former Gov. Kristi Noem for FY2026. FY2027 is split between about 34% state funds, 42% federal funds and 23% funds marked as “other.”
Rhoden is also leaving about $14 million for lawmakers to divvy up during the upcoming Legislative Session in January. And an additional 135 full-time staff have been recommended for the next fiscal year, up from a budgeted 14,095 in FY 2026.
But Rhoden, who is only serving a partial term as governor after having taken over the reins from Noem last January and now faces reelection in 2026, is taking on the state’s fiscal goals and ambitions amid slim revenue projections and realities.
“I won’t sugarcoat it: Revenues have been pretty flat – only rising slightly,” Rhoden told lawmakers during his address. “But we have to keep the context in mind. We’re coming off some of the strongest years in our state’s history – or in any state’s history. Our economic growth may have slowed, but we’re comparing that to the fastest growth that South Dakota has ever seen.”
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Ongoing sales and use tax collections suffered in FY25 before bounce back
More than half of the state’s overall revenue picture is made up of an ongoing sales and use tax, which saw a fiscal year-to-year decrease.
South Dakota FY2025 collected about $1.43 billion from the state sales and use tax — a 1.5% decrease compared with FY2024. Data from the state’s Bureau of Finance & Management indicates several months measured in FY2025 saw dips in sales and use tax growth.
The Rhoden budget estimates the FY2026 collections will reach about $1.5 billion and $1.56 billion in FY2027.
State sales and use tax revenue has seen month-to-month growth since June, with a more-than-8% increase in October.
“We’ll be getting November numbers any day now,” Rhoden said. “Year-to-date, we’re about where we want to be. 4% to 5% growth is pretty typical for South Dakota, but it also means we don’t have a ton of headroom.”
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South Dakota’s farm sector sees impacts of Trump tariffs; Rhoden says to ‘pray for rain’
Recent data shows the Midwest has seen economic swings in the agriculture and commodity markets — and Rhoden had to acknowledge it, at least in part.
According to a recent study by The Dakota Institute, a nonprofit economic research firm, South Dakota saw its real gross domestic product (GDP) shrink by 3.1% in Q1 of 2025 — neighboring states saw similar impacts.
It later rebounded in South Dakota with 5.2% annualized growth in Q2 of 2025. But President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy and an international trade war underlined the volatile nature of in the state’s corn, soybean and wheat prices, which have dropped since to lowest prices in years, while U.S. beef cattle prices are at record highs.
“The weakness reflected ongoing pressures from trade disruptions through the implementation of tariffs and a mass renegotiation process of multiple trade agreements,” The Dakota Institute’s study indicated. “This volatility — contraction followed by robust recovery within six months — underscores both the region’s vulnerability to external shocks and its capacity to bounce back when conditions stabilize.”
“When ag does well, the state does well,” Rhoden said. “But when ag struggles, our growth tends to slow down … Historically, there’s been a correlation between our sales tax collections and farm income. So let’s pray for rain and for President Trump to be successful in his trade negotiations.”
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Medicaid spending overtakes K-12 dollars in FY27
Medicaid, one of South Dakota’s largest fiscal responsibilities, has grown “far faster than any other area of the budget,” Rhoden said.
“In fact,” Rhoden added, “for the first time in state history, Medicaid is a bigger share of the general fund than K-12 education.”
According to the BFM, the state’s Medicaid budget has grown by $360 million since 2020 to $758 million. Rhoden budgeted $725 million for K-12 education.
The state’s share of the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, which determines matching each state’s federal match, now represents $105 million. South Dakota’s coverage share went up by 0.86%, from 48.47% to 49.33%.
State employees won’t see budgeted raises in next fiscal year
Breaking from his predecessor, who pushed for state employee raises during her tenure as governor, Rhoden revealed that employees for the state won’t see a baseline raise to their salaries in FY2027.
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Rhoden said the state budget includes a “modest investment in our State Employee Health Plan,” specifically a $3 million investment in health plan reserves. The Republican governor added there are also “plan changes” in the works to prevent employees’ healthcare costs from going up, “since we won’t be able to give them a raise this year.”
But Eric Ollila, executive director and lobbyist for the South Dakota State Employees Organization, told the Argus Leader following the budget address that Rhoden’s budget picture doesn’t account for healthcare deductibles.
Ollila also said the “plan changes” that Rhoden teased were too vague for his liking. He later expressed concern that the changes would be passed through to state employees.
“What it’s not going to do is save employees 100% of the healthcare costs,” Ollila said.
Rhoden recommends raising reserve allocation to 12.5%
Rhoden plans to increase the state’s budget reserve from 10% to 12.5%
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The governor attributed his desire to raise reserves based on “continued slower revenue growth and weakness in the farm sector.”
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – The South Dakota Arts Council is seeking submissions for the Art for State Buildings Program. South Dakota artists have until March 1, 2026, to submit purchase proposals for consideration.
The Art for State Buildings program was created for the purpose of creating a permanent collection for the State of South Dakota and exhibiting the work of talented South Dakota artists in areas of state government buildings with public access. Work purchased will be installed in public access areas of the Capitol and other state buildings in Pierre.
Any South Dakota artists whose body of work has contributed to the state’s cultural heritage and development are encouraged to submit their work. Artists may propose one artwork for purchase.
Proposals will be reviewed by an advisory committee to the South Dakota Arts Council.
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Selection will be based on:
Quality of the proposed work and relevance to the artist’s career;
The artwork’s relevance to South Dakota’s environment, history, heritage, or culture;
The applicant’s professional arts experience; and
Physical attributes of the artwork regarding durability and safety in a public setting
Submissions must be received through the South Dakota Arts Council’s online Artwork Archive platform. The complete request for proposal and submission instructions are posted at https://artscouncil.sd.gov/directories/artstatebldgs.aspx. For assistance call 605-773-3102 or email sarah.carlson@state.sd.us.
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