DENVER — State lawmakers are considering sending voters a pair of ballot measures this fall to provide more funding for a program that offers free meals to every Colorado student.
When Colorado voters approved Proposition FF in 2022, it was seen as a major step toward tackling food insecurity among Colorado’s youth by offering every student, regardless of their family’s income, free breakfast and lunch. Madeleine Ashour, the director of K-12 education policy at the Colorado Children’s Campaign, said the Healthy School Meals for All program, which was created by the passage of the proposition, has been an overwhelming success.
“Every single kid in Colorado needs healthy school meals or healthy meals every single day,” said Ashour.
However, there is one growing problem: the Healthy School Meals for All program is costing the state a lot more than expected.
“The demand for the program has exceeded the amount of money that the original ballot measure raised for the program,” said Ashour.
Politics
Colorado's free school lunch program faces budget shortfall
Higher food prices and changes to federal reimbursements have also contributed to soaring costs. According to state budget analysts, a program originally projected to cost $48 to $78 million a year will now cost closer to $150 million a year.
That’s why lawmakers are considering House Bill 25-1274, a bill that would send two ballot measures to voters. One would ask voters for permission to keep the excess revenue the state collected during the program's first year. The other would ask voters to raise taxes for wealthier Coloradans to pay for the program.
State Rep. Lorena García, who is sponsoring the measure in the Colorado House of Representatives, said the state is in a "now or never" situation.
If voters approve the tax increase, the 194,000 Coloradans who make over $300,000 would see their tax bills increase by an average of $570. The original ballot measure in 2022 capped charitable tax deductions for those making $300,000 or more.
- Read the fiscal note for HB25-1274 below
Ashour was among a long list of people who testified in support of the bill last week.
“I think that these two ballot measures will create the sustainable funding that the program needs,” said Ashour.
Alysia Bellamy, a teacher at Academy of Las Animas Online, which is based in Pueblo, called the program a lifesaver for some of her students.
“Most of the students that I have are low-income,” she said. “They may not have access to all the different types of meals that they should at home.”
Bellamy said students who attend the online school can visit a “drop-in zone” to eat breakfast and lunch for free.
“People will come into the zone, they'll eat breakfast, they'll socialize, they'll do school,” the teacher explained.
- View the Blue Book explainer for Proposition FF below
State Rep. Ron Weinberg, R-Loveland, is against the plan. He said lawmakers need to take more time to study the problem before sending ballot measures to voters.
“My concern is always going to be that we have to study the issue before we write a bill to try and fix an issue,” said Weinberg. "How about we go back to the drawing board and figure out what actually is the issue? What communities need this? What communities don't? And how can we actually feed children responsibly?"
Weinberg believes a lot of the food provided by the program is being wasted. He has introduced a pair of bills that would address that.
House Bill 25-1059 would encourage school districts to adopt policies that aim to reduce food waste, while House Bill 25-1166 would expand training on food waste reduction and increase the donation and resale of food.
Weinberg said he hasn’t seen any numbers that show how much food is being wasted. Ashour said food waste doesn’t appear to be a big issue for the program.
“I think it's interesting that we haven't started to talk about food waste until we started to talk about feeding hungry kids,” said Ashour. “We’re putting healthy, nutritious meals in front of all Colorado kids, especially the ones who wouldn’t otherwise get those nutritious meals. Solving that problem is probably more important in the list of priorities than addressing kids who maybe throw away their fifth chicken nugget.”
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