Flanagan serves up breakfast at Maple Grove elementary school to mark first year of free meals

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan served breakfast at Oak View Elementary School in Maple Grove on Wednesday morning in celebration of a full year of Minnesota’s Free School Meals Program.

Sporting plastic gloves and a baseball cap, Flanagan stood behind the counter in the school cafeteria and asked each student whether they’d like a breakfast sandwich or cereal.

After Flanagan was done chatting with kids in the lunchroom as they ate their breakfast, she held a press conference at the school’s library, sharing that the program has served 150 million free meals to kids in its first full fiscal school year: July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.

“The questions that we ask young people aren’t, ‘Do you have enough money in your account for lunch or for breakfast?’ We say, ‘Do you want a breakfast sandwich or do you want cereal?’ ” Flanagan said. “We should just feed them, no questions asked.”

In March of 2023, Gov. Tim Walz signed the Free School Meals bill into law, creating a state-funded program that reimburses schools for meals served to students who do not qualify for free or reduced-price meals.

The projected budget for the first two years of the program originally stood at $400 million but is now closer to $481 million. Flanagan said at Wednesday’s press conference that the cost so far is up to $277 million.

“We have made the decision that this is absolutely worth the investment,” she said. “When we think about what this means for the long-term, overall success of our state, that is a price I think that Minnesotans are absolutely willing to pay for the future of Minnesota.”

Flanagan said that while cost is part of the conversation, people should also talk about the benefits cited by parents and teachers over the past year, like better focus and attendance.

Flanagan did not specify what the budget for the Free Meals Program will look like in the future.

“We are in that budget development process,” she said. “Of course, everyone is looking forward to the November (state budget) forecast, and we’ll have a sense of that, so stay tuned. I don’t want to get out over my skis, and there’s a couple of things that need to happen between now and Nov. 5.”

Natalie Anderson, who is a parent to two kids attending Oak View Elementary, said the program has benefited her family.

“Mornings at our house can be incredibly chaotic,” she said. “My husband and I both work full time, so our mornings are spent running around, getting vitamins, feeding the dog, putting the dishes away. So not having to think about getting lunch together, packing lunch and having a nutritious plan for our kids has been a big relief for us.”

The state Department of Education’s preliminary summary estimates the program has saved Minnesota families over $267.81 million in its first year, equivalent to $1,000 per student per year.

The report states that all public schools in the state participate in the program, along with 167 charter schools and 163 non-public schools, such as private schools or residential child care institutions.