Over the course of the past year, the Massachusetts government has been working on a statewide decision to make lunches free for every student in the commonwealth.
Based on new federal and state support, a new policy has enacted a four percent tax on incomes of millionaires in the state. With the new tax in place, a new account of one billion dollars will be integrated into the Massachusetts budget for this upcoming year. It would allow for new support to the 26% of Massachusetts households who are food insecure.
As a student of WA, I have never had a problem with food insecurity, but I know for many of the Massachusetts residents that need it, this would be a game changer. For some people, school lunch is hard to pay for in an unstable financial position. With this new law put into place, parents will be able to save money for their families, all the while guaranteeing that their children would not go hungry during a school day.
I know that if I don’t have lunch at school, I would be a grouchy student that wouldn’t be able to concentrate on what is actually important in my classes. According to studies from NoKidHungry, 80% of students show negative affects on their concentration if they are hungry, 76% had an effect on their academic performance and 62% saw behavioral issues increased. Now with free food for anyone in any financial situation, students shouldn’t be affected as much by hunger as before.
School lunch is important to everyone but I never realized how much of a problem it is, especially in the state of Massachusetts, until the problem arose to the higher level of the state legislature.
A more healthy environment for everyone can help most students get a better opportunity towards success. I hope that in the future Massachusetts can pass more legislative works like these to secure a more profound future for residents across the commonwealth.
