LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Two lawmakers in Kentucky have introduced a bill to help schools across the state provide free meals to all students.
Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville, and Rep. Chad Aull, D-Lexington, introduced legislation Friday that would make access to a federal program easier to help qualified schools provide free meals to students.
“For many students, school breakfasts and lunches are not just the best meals of the day; they’re often the only ones,” Chambers Armstrong said in a news release. “Unfortunately, and for a variety of reasons, some students have not been able to fully access these meals like they should. The bill that Rep. Aull and I are announcing today would help a lot of families have one less thing to worry about.”
The legislation would allow all public schools with at least 60% of the student body meeting the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) income requirements would have to participate by the 2025-26 school year.
The bill will be considered early next year by the General Assembly. Currently, CEP-affiliated school will feed more than 550,000 students this year, according to the Kentucky Department of Education. With this new legislation, an additional 20,000 students will benefit from CEP.
One and seven Kentucky children suffer from childhood hunger. Chambers Armstrong said similar pandemic-related programs showed how beneficial they are for a child's well-being.
"CEP gives us a permanent way to keep that going for families in need, which I think is critical," Chambers Armstrong said.
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