skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

US sues NY state officials over immigration enforcement; NM's national monuments face new development threats from Trump; NC community colleges get 'boost' to bring more students to high-demand jobs; Trump's resignation plan for federal workers can move forward; Advocates push for program to decrease wildlife collisions in VA.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Deregulation raises environmental and public health concerns, national monuments face potential risks, political neutrality in education sparks protests, and Tulsi Gabbard's confirmation fuels controversy.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural America struggles with opioids and homelessness in unexpected ways, Colorado's Lariat Ditch could help spur local recreation, and book deliveries revive rural communities hit by Hurricane Helene.

Free lunch, breakfast could soon come to all VA students

play audio
Play

Friday, January 24, 2025   

Free school lunch and breakfast may soon be the law in the Commonwealth.

House Bill 1958 would require local school boards to participate in federal school lunch and breakfast programs through the Department of Agriculture. The programs make school lunches and breakfasts available to any student who asks for one.

Some schools are already taking part in the programs but the legislation would make it a requirement statewide.

Emily Hardy, deputy director of the Center for Healthy Communities at the Virginia Poverty Law Center, said there is a need for expanded free school meals across the state.

"Almost 400,000 kids would qualify financially currently to get school breakfast that don't," Hardy reported. "We do know there are a lot of children in Virginia who are food insecure, but aren't currently getting the service in their school."

Nearly 1.3 million Virginia children are currently enrolled in public schools across the Commonwealth.

Research from No Kid Hungry suggested free school breakfast also cuts down on rates of chronic absenteeism, where students miss 10% or more of the academic year.

Hardy noted sometimes, a free school meal could come with a stigma for students. A blanket policy, she added, can also help other parents, not just those in a tough financial position.

"Reducing stigma, making it so that all children have access to this, it both helps parents who could afford to pay for meals but maybe don't have the time to make them, or are struggling with other things," Hardy emphasized. "It also helps those children who are low-income, who then don't have to face the stigma of being the only kid getting the free meal."

Other states have already taken steps to provide blanket school meals to students, including in Minnesota, New Mexico and Maine.

Disclosure: The Virginia Poverty Law Center contributes to our fund for reporting on Civil Rights, Housing/Homelessness, Poverty Issues, and Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
With the inclusion of workforce certificates and certifications, Ohio's overall rate of educational attainment has increased by 18.1% since 2009. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

According to research from Lumina Foundation, the rate of U.S. high school seniors seeking higher education is on the upswing. Although Ohio student …


play sound

Lawmakers in Michigan have introduced a package of bills designed to lower costs and expand health care access. Senate Bill 3 would create a …

Health and Wellness

play sound

As winter drags on with a recent rare burst of snow across North Florida, many Floridians struggle with seasonal affective disorder. It is a form of …


Southern sea otters only inhabit about 13% of their former range and remain absent from the Oregon coast. (Dhayes/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

The push to reintroduce southern sea otters to greater sections of the California and Oregon coast is getting a big boost from a $1.56 million grant f…

Social Issues

play sound

By Nina B. Elkadi for Sentient.Broadcast version by Judith Ruiz-Branch for Illinois News Connection reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service …

The Environmental Protection Agency said excess nitrogen and phosphorus cause an overgrowth of algae in lakes and if algal blooms occur, the toxins they produce can be harmful to human health and aquatic life. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Minnesota is giving its water quality standards a fresh look. With public input in their hands, officials are under pressure to add language about …

Social Issues

play sound

Nevada's only sitting Indigenous legislator has introduced a bill to recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day on what she calls the "correct day," the second…

Environment

play sound

The Trump administration has started dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency's office dealing with reducing environmental harms to minority an…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021