In Pennsylvania, food insecurity remains a significant barrier to student success. Data show one in eight Pennsylvanians experiences food insecurity.
During a Pennsylvania House Majority Policy Committee hearing on Wednesday, Jeff Ney, vice president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, urged lawmakers to support legislation that would establish a state fund to ensure all students have access to school lunch.
Ney explained that school meals provide consistency for families living just above federal income thresholds, and noted that children need reliable, nutritious food to focus, manage emotions and learn.
“If a child knows that, when they walk into our public schools, they are going to be provided a meal,” he said, “the insecurity of where their next meal comes from is lifted off of their shoulders.”
Ney said research clearly shows that students experiencing food insecurity have higher rates of absenteeism, lower academic performance and greater difficulty regulating emotions and behavior.
In Pennsylvania during the 2022-2023 school year, more than 56% of public school kids qualified for free or reduced-price lunches, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
After Congress passed record cuts to SNAP and Medicaid in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” Ney said, states and even school districts are being forced to pick up the tab. He said a state-funded school lunch program is now more critical than ever.
“As a result,” he said, “we immediately – our educators all across the Commonwealth – got together and started their own food drives to make sure that any of the families that are affected by those cuts have somewhere to go to relieve those food insecurities that they may be experiencing.”
Ney said his organization supports House Bill 180, which aims to provide universal school meals for all students. He said the association applauds Gov. Josh Shapiro’s move to ensure every student receives a free breakfast. House Bill 180, introduced in 2025, would expand no-cost breakfasts and lunches funded by the state to guarantee students get the nutrition they need to succeed in school.
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