One of the most pressing issues we’re facing today in Maine is food insecurity. Though hunger can seem nonexistent to those who don’t face it on a daily basis, it unfortunately is prevalent across Maine today, no matter what part of the state you’re in.

The most upsetting instance of this is among our children. Maine currently has the highest rate of child hunger in New England, and one of the highest in the nation. When our kids are hungry, they can’t focus in school and don’t have the fuel they need to play and grow. This needs to change, and I’m proud to share that we have passed two bills in the Senate that will not only ensure every Maine student can get meals at school, but also that they have access to nutritious, local foods.

One of these bills is LD 1679, “An Act To Address Student Hunger through Expanding Access to Free School Meals,” and is sponsored by my colleague, Senate President Troy Jackson. This bill would provide every student in Maine free school meals. It does so by providing the necessary funding to cover the difference between those who currently qualify under the National School Lunch Program, which is administered by the federal government, and all other Maine students. The federal government will continue providing these meals for all students through the 2022 school year, but this bill would make it permanent.

You might be wondering why we want to cover students who don’t currently qualify for free or reduced priced meals under the federal guidelines. There are a couple reasons for this.

First, students who receive free meals at school are often subjected to bullying and humiliation from their peers, so much so that it can cause them to skip getting the meal entirely.

Secondly, there may be students who just barely miss the federal cutoff, but who also struggle to receive consistent meals at home. Whatever the situation, making free meals the uniform policy will ensure that our kids aren’t going hungry, and that they can learn to their fullest potential.

Another recent bill that we passed in the Senate is sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Eloise Vitelli. The bill, LD 636, “An Act To Encourage the Purchase of Local Foods for Public Schools,” will get more local foods to our schools, while at the same time supporting local farmers and producers.

The bill expands on a current law that gets local produce to schools and would allow for dairy and protein products, in addition to produce, to be purchased through the program. The bill also increases the amount of money the state will match for schools purchasing these foods, and allows for food to be purchased from local distributors in addition to directly purchasing from farms.

After all we’ve been through, we need to do everything we can to support Maine farms. This bill is a win all around and will benefit our farmers, food producers and all Maine students.

Together, these two bills will make a real difference in the lives of Maine students. We have the ability to not only ensure our children can access meals at school, but to make sure they’re getting high quality, local and nutritious food.

I’m pleased to share that these two bills received unanimous, bipartisan support in the Senate in initial votes, and I’m hopeful that we can send them to the desk of Gov. Mills in the near future.

If you have any questions, comments or ideas, you can always reach me by email at Stacy.Brenner@legislature.maine.gov or by phone at 287-1515.