• Oregon could become the 10th state to offer universal free breakfast and lunch to students.
• Lawmakers also propose money for kitchen upgrades and extended breakfast time.
• Supporters say universal free meals reduce stigma and improve attendance.

Oregon could become the 10th state in the U.S. to offer universal free meals for students under a bill making its way through the Legislature.

House Bill 3435 would make school meals available to all students at no cost, regardless of their household income. If passed, the law would require all school districts to offer free lunch and breakfast starting in the 2026-27 school year. It would also direct the Department of Education to apply for statewide participation in federal programs and projects that expand access to free or reduced-price meals.

The Oregon House Education Committee held a public hearing on the bill this week. Dozens of people spoke about the importance of providing free breakfasts and lunches.

“As a classroom teacher for many years, I witnessed the impact of hunger on my students,” said Rep. Courtney Neron, D-Wilsonville, one of the chief sponsors. “The effects weren’t only visible in fatigue and stress.

“I also remember high schoolers would skip lunch to avoid the stigma of the free and reduced lunch line,” Neron said. “When we remove that stigma and create the opportunity for shared breakfast and lunches, it helps build community and leads to improved academic performance.”

Neron said the bill also would leverage $4 million in state funding to help the program operate more effectively.

The majority of Oregon schools already provide free breakfast and lunch through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Community Eligibility Provision program, which is available to individual schools and districts. Neron said about 65 schools in Oregon do not qualify for CEP.

Eligible schools are reimbursed for the free breakfast and lunch they provide students. According to HB3435, more than 98% of Oregon schools that qualify for CEP participate in the program.

However, Oregon only reimburses many participating schools at 90% of the federal reimbursement rate.

“Federal funds have limitations on how they can be used, so the state investment fills critical gaps by providing additional grant funding,” Neron said.

In addition to providing universal free meals, the bill would:

• Expand time for breakfast until after the bell, allowing more students access to free breakfast.
• Maximize federal reimbursements.
• Address parents’ school meal debt.
• Help schools upgrade kitchen equipment.
• Provide grants to schools already participating in the program that have seen an increase in meals served.

Neron said these grants would fund infrastructure improvements to reduce long lunch lines and give students adequate time to eat.

“With uncertainty around federal support for basic assistance programs, House Bill 3435 gives new authority to the Oregon Department of Education and the State Board of Education to help respond to unanticipated changes in regulation or funding,” Neron said.

“We’re so close to becoming the next state to offer universal school meals,” said Re​p. Hòa Nguyễn, ​D-East Portland and Damascus, a sponsor of the legislation. “School meals matter, and the difference that it makes for students, families and communities is incredibly significant.”

Nine states have universal free school meals: California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Vermont and Arkansas.

The stigma around free and reduced-price meals

In addition to state legislators, several group and individual advocates spoke in support of HB 3435. Testimonies ranged from a Roseburg third grader to a “lunch lady veteran” with 30 years of school nutrition service under her belt.

“We’re here because no child should go hungry at school. It’s a really simple premise that have motivated so many of us for the last decades in Oregon to get to this point, and we’re running towards that finish line,” said David Wieland, who works for Partners for Hunger-Free Oregon.

Wieland and several other speakers mentioned the stigma surrounding school meals, with a perception that students who eat school lunches come from lower-income households.

“It’s not just that hungry students act out. It’s that our current school meal system identifies, on a daily basis, which students have money and wealth and which don’t,” Wieland said. “It creates an unconscious bias within the school. We set different expectations, and students are disciplined at a higher rate.”

Rep. Cyrus Javadi, R-North Coast/Astoria, one of the bill’s chief sponsor, shared his personal experience growing up with a free lunch token. He said he was one of four children raised by a single mother who worked three jobs.

“I remember feeling just horrified that kids would know that we were too poor to have lunch … I learned quickly how to act like I wasn’t hungry,” Javadi said. “Today, we have a chance to make sure no student in Oregon has to calculate how long they can hold out until dinner. This bill eliminates a pointless distinction between kids who qualify for a meal and kids who don’t, making sure every student — rich or poor — has access to the same breakfast and lunch. That means no more stigma.”

No one spoke up in opposition to the bill.

Free school meals in Eugene, Springfield, Salem, Portland

Some of the largest districts in the state, including Salem-Keizer, Portland, Beaverton and Hillsboro, all provide free breakfast and lunch. So do all three Eugene-Springfield metro school districts — Eugene School District 4J, Springfield Public Schools and Bethel School District.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Eugene School District 4J, which serves 16,000 students, decided to continue offering free meals. Nutrition Services Director Jill Cuadros said that for two years, the district allocated dollars from its general fund to supplement meals for schools that did not yet qualify for the federal program. However, in October 2023, the USDA adjusted its CEP requirements, making it easier for schools to qualify. The minimum identified student percentage was lowered from 40% to 25%, making all 4J schools eligible for CEP.

Now, 4J serves approximately 12,500 meals a day between both breakfast and lunch.

“When they have the freedom to eat, students end up eating when perhaps they wouldn’t have,” Cuadros said. “They don’t have to think about it. There’s no fear that they’re creating debt that perhaps their families can’t afford. It just becomes a really happy opportunity as a part of their school day. We like it because we know that they’re getting back to class with food in their bellies so they can think.”

Several 4J schools, such as Holt Elementary, have been offering universal free meals for more than a decade.

Cuadros said the cost-saving and time-saving aspect of universal free meals is huge for 4J families.

“Families are so busy, this is one less stop in the morning of things that they have to do, which is put a lunch together or stop for breakfast,” she said. “It is a benefit for families who struggle to make ends meet, but when it comes to time and families’ precious time, I think this is also a benefit for them, that they can just rely on us.”

Unforeseen benefits of free school meals

Cuadros said universal free meals have led to unexpected benefits, particularly at the high school level. School meal consumption went up 566% in 4J high schools. Additionally, attendance in the period following lunch improved. In 4J, all high school students may leave campus for lunch. With more students eating lunch at school, more are staying the rest of the day.

“We’re making space for student voice when it comes to what they see on their menus and things like that,” Cuadros said. “I do think that that makes a difference, but I think the fact that these meals are at no cost to a student is what’s really, really setting that up for them to be successful.”

Eliminating the stigma surrounding school meals has also eased administrative burdens, she said. Instead of spending time going through applications and socioeconomic data for families, Nutrition Services can focus on other projects. Cuadros said 4J has been able to put its efforts into improving the quality of the food it serves students.

4J has shifted back to from-scratch cooking, prioritized seasonal fruits and vegetables, and sourced 40% of its food from Oregon producers.

“I know (HB3435) doesn’t impact my district, but I hope the state as a whole does garner that opportunity,” Cuadros said. “I think schools will be pleased once … they get in there and see those sort of unanticipated outcomes for their students.”

Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.