STATEMENT: Share Our Strength’s Lisa Davis on Funding of No-Cost School Meals for All Students in New Mexico

“We applaud Governor Lujan Grisham, Senator Padilla and Senator Jaramillo for their leadership, elevating New Mexico as a national leader in ensuring every student has a healthy breakfast and lunch.”

Contact: Meredith Jorss, mjorss@strength.org

Washington, DC — Today, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law SB 4, which will provide no-cost school meals to all K-12 New Mexico children, including an additional 309,000 children. New Mexico becomes the fifth state to enact a law that requires and funds no-cost meals. The following is a statement from Lisa Davis, Senior Vice President of Share Our Strength:

“In New Mexico, school meals are essential for the 1 in 5 children who may face hunger. The passage of healthy school meals for all children will help students get the fuel they need, but the benefits don’t stop there. When kids have access to consistent, nutritious food through school meals, they can focus on learning, not their empty stomachs. They’re healthier, better able to focus in the classroom and miss fewer days of school. Every day too many families meet challenges in providing meals for their children, with incomes too high to qualify for free or reduced-price meals but too low to meet basic needs. This is only exacerbated by persistent high food prices and school meals are critical to ensure kids’ nutritional needs are met.

We applaud Governor Lujan Grisham, Senator Padilla and Senator Jaramillo for their leadership, elevating New Mexico as a national leader in ensuring every student has a healthy breakfast and lunch.”