Category Archives: School Nutrition

Posted on by

Another Free Lunch Story

Will Bill Lee and the GOP kill free school lunch . . . again?

I’m guessing the answer is yes.

Rep. John Ray Clemmons has been trying to pass legislation that would make school meals free for all kids since 2018.

Standing in his way: Republicans.

Gov. Bill Lee wants to spend $150 million to start a universal school voucher scheme that could cost more than $700 million a year at full implementation.

He gave $500 million to the Tennessee Titans for a new (smaller) stadium.

He handed out $1.6 billion in corporate tax breaks.

And yet he has not (yet) taken a bold stand in favor of free school meals for all kids.

That, though, has not deterred Rep. Clemmons and legislative Democrats.

Rather than fund school lunches or boost teacher pay or invest in Medicaid expansion, or end the grocery tax, lawmakers have found a dizzying array of ways to reduce revenue by lowering or eliminating taxes paid by the wealthy or corporations.

MORE EDUCATION NEWS

Responding to Trump on Education

What’s Up with Kevin Huffman?

MORE TENNESSEE NEWS

The Fight to End the Grocery Tax

An Agenda for the Middle Class

Posted on by

Democrats Propose Free School Meals

2025 legislative agenda includes push for free meals for all kids at school

Tennessee’s legislative Democrats announced their 2025 agenda and it includes a proposal for free school meals for all kids.

Democratic legislative leaders sent an outline of the policy agenda to members of the media. Among the items included are:

  • Ending the grocery tax
  • Free school meals for all kids
  • Expanded access to health coverage
  • Raising the minimum wage

Democrats have proposed free school meals before, but the proposal typically is shot down by the GOP-majority in committee.

Estimates of past proposals suggest the total cost would be around $500-$700 million a year. For reference, the state provided more than $500 million to the Tennessee Titans to build a new (smaller) stadium. Lawmakers also passed $1.6 billion worth of corporate tax breaks during the last legislative session. And, Gov. Lee insisted that nearly $150 million be “set aside” for his private school voucher proposal, a plan that failed to secure enough votes to advance in the 2024 session.

The point: We can afford to feed every kid who comes to school every day. Gov. Lee and the legislative majority just don’t want to.

MORE EDUCATION NEWS

School Lunch and the Race for the White House

Christian Nationalism and the School Privatization Agenda

MORE TENNESSEE NEWS

Raising the Minimum Wage

Corporate Tax Revenue Down as Fiscal Year Begins

Posted on by

The Free Lunch Guy

Harris makes a policy statement with VP pick

Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.

Walz is a former teacher, union member, and solid progressive.

And in Minnesota, he signed a law making school breakfast and lunch free for every kid, every day.

This may seem amazing to people in Tennessee. Here, lawmakers and Gov. Lee are focused on giving $500 million to the Tennessee Titans, privatizing state roads, and offering $1.6 billion in corporate tax giveaways.

While proposals to make school meals free for all kids in Tennessee have been presented – by both Democrats and at least one Republican – they have consistently been shot down.

Lunchroom Bullies

Posted on by

Tennessee’s School Lunch Problem

Titans, big corporations get cash, kids get left behind

Tennessee has a school lunch problem.

Specifically, while the state has provided a half billion to the Tennessee Titans for a new stadium and offered $1.6 billion in tax breaks to big corporations (many from out of state), the state still does not provide free school meals to all kids.

For less than one third of the cost of funding corporate tax breaks and paying for a stadium for the privately-owned Titans, Tennessee could feed breakfast and lunch for free to every kid in school every day.

Instead, families in the state are saddled with school lunch debt.

According to a recent article in Salon, students in K-12 public schools in Tennessee owe a total of more than $50 million in school lunch debt.

And, I wrote recently about how school lunch payment processors only make this problem worse:

These processors often charge fees to process payments – meaning the price of school meals goes up when using them. Yet, many families have no option – a single vendor typically operates the payment system for a district.

Posted on by

The Answer is Yes

School meals should be free for all kids all the time

School lunch debt is gross and should not exist.

Tennessee continues to allow school lunch debt to persist, despite significant resources that would and could create a free school meal program for all kids.

The state has spent $500 million for a new Titans stadium and $1.6 billion on a corporate tax giveaway.

Those two expenses alone are three times the cost of providing free school meals for all kids in Tennessee public schools.

MORE TENNESSEE NEWS

TN Doctors Call for Gun Safety Reform

Claiming a Benefit That Wasn’t Earned

Posted on by

No Free Lunch

Missouri district embarrassed by 5th grader

School lunch debt should not exist.

Not in Tennessee. And not anywhere else.

The Community Steps Up

Recently, a fifth grader in Missouri raised funds to pay off the school lunch debt at his school. The fundraiser was so successful, he also was able to pay off the lunch debt for graduating seniors at his local high school.

Policymakers could end all school lunch debt – if they wanted to.

Some districts (like Nashville) have free meals for all kids. Heck, some states (like Minnesota) provide funding for free meals for all kids in school.

But more often than not, school lunch debt is a reality – and punishments for school lunch debt can include withholding diplomas or preventing students from participating in certain school activities.

The alternative is simple: feed all the kids at school for free. No questions asked.

MORE TENNESSEE NEWS

Commissioner of Education Abuses Tuition Waiver Program

School Vouchers are Expensive and Ineffective

Posted on by

Will Tennessee Do the Right Thing?

Can policymakers summon the will to make school meals free for all kids?

State Rep. John Ray Clemmons is frustrated. Angry, even.

He’s been trying for years to get his fellow lawmakers to fund a plan to make school meals free for all kids.

Lunchroom Bullies

This year, a Republican lawmaker joined the fight – sponsoring a bill similar to one Clemmons has carried in the past. Still, the bill was met with stiff resistance by legislators.

The national trend is toward schools providing meals for free for all kids.

The Tennessee trend is in favor of hundreds of millions of public dollars to fund a stadium for a private business owner and $1.6 billion for a corporate tax break.

Rather than fund school lunches, lawmakers and Gov. Lee seek annually to find new schemes that would use taxpayer money to fund unaccountable private schools.

Vouchers vs. Teachers

For the past decade, the state has run budget surpluses in the range of $1-3 billion.

Rather than fund school lunches or boost teacher pay or invest in Medicaid expansion, or end the grocery tax, lawmakers have found a dizzying array of ways to reduce revenue by lowering or eliminating taxes paid by the wealthy or corporations.

The problem is so acute that Tennessee is in real danger of running a significant budget deficit in the 2025 fiscal year.

If Bill Lee ran his HVAC business this way, they’d be filing for bankruptcy.

MORE TENNESSEE NEWS

School Board Candidate Opposes Arming Teachers

Bill Lee vs. TSU

Posted on by

The Community Steps Up

Exposes massive state policy failure

In Wilson County, people are stepping up to cancel school lunch debt.

Sure, school lunch debt represents a massive policy failure. But at least this community is coming together to say kids shouldn’t leave school with debt for meals.

The action by the Wilson County community also highlights that the state can easily afford to cancel all $50 million in school lunch debt currently on the books.

Wilson County residents raised enough money – around $6000 – to cancel the lunch debt for all graduating seniors. Still, the district has some $30,000 in school lunch debt remaining.

Lawmakers have repeatedly rejected the idea of the state paying for free school meals (breakfast and lunch) for all kids. The projected cost: $714 million a year.

Half a billion for the Titans stadium? No problem!

Sitting on $700 million in TANF? Got it!

Feeding ALL kids at school every day? Nope!

That’s the policy position of Tennessee.

crop man getting dollars from wallet
Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

MORE TENNESSEE NEWS

Speaking Out Against Arming Teachers

New Marijuana Policy Could Have Health Benefits

Posted on by

TN Lawmakers Could Cancel School Lunch Debt

But that’s not on the agenda

Tweet from TN Holler

As lawmakers continue maneuvering to secure passage of legislation that would transfer hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to unaccountable private schools, they also continue ignoring a glaring need.

School lunch debt.

According to a recent article in Salon, students in K-12 public schools in Tennessee owe a total of more than $50 million in school lunch debt.

“. . . according to 2024 statistics from the Education Data Center, on a state-level, Tennessee has $51,610,062 in student lunch debt and about 285,770 food insecure students.”

If we have $144 million for school vouchers, we have $50 million to cancel school lunch debt.

The total projected cost of the voucher program at full implementation is in excess of $700 million a year.

You know what else would cost just over $700 million a year?

Providing free breakfast and lunch to all Tennessee K-12 students every day.

MORE TENNESSEE NEWS

Lee, Lawmakers Abuse Power in TSU Takeover

Bill Lee’s Corporate Tax Giveaway: $2 Billion

Posted on by

Why Does School Lunch Debt Exist?

Tennessee policymakers reject efforts focused on free meals for all kids in school

Arby’s is stepping up where Tennessee lawmakers failed. The roast beef sandwich chain is providing a grant to erase school lunch debt in one Tennessee county.

Meanwhile, legislators consistently reject efforts to provide free meals to all kids at school.

Salon reports on the effort by Arby’s to erase student lunch debt:

Hawkins County Schools in Tennessee received a $16,892 grant from the Arby’s Foundation to assist with student lunch debt. The foundation, which centers on combating childhood hunger, has committed $500,000 to support approximately 200 communities in which Arby’s has a restaurant.  

Salon notes that Tennessee students carry a staggering amount of school lunch debt:

The issue of outstanding student lunch debt isn’t unique to Hawkins County; according to 2024 statistics from the Education Data Center, on a state-level, Tennessee has $51,610,062 in student lunch debt and about 285,770 food insecure students.

This despite repeated efforts by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers to pass legislation that would provide some measure of free school meals to all kids.

One analysis notes that the cost to provide free school meals (breakfast and lunch) to all kids in Tennessee would be $714 million.

In a state with typical annual budget surpluses in range of $2 billion, this seems like an easy task.

Instead, the General Assembly this year is focusing on passing a corporate tax break estimated to cost $1.6 billion.

MORE TENNESSEE NEWS

Questions Raised About Lee’s Tax Break Scheme

Free Pre-K for All?