Minnesota leaders defend $80M cost overrun of free school meals program, tout successes

    MAPLE GROVE, Minnesota (WCCO) -- One year into the Minnesota Free School Meals Program, the state's DFL leaders are defending the decision to go millions of dollars over budget to serve nearly 150 million meals to students.

A handful of leaders, including Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, spent Wednesday morning dishing out breakfast at Maple Grove's Oak View Elementary School to mark one year of the program, and the release of the Minnesota Department of Education's preliminary summary.

Flanagan says in the program's first year, the state's 870,000 eligible K-12 students have each been served about 173 meals, saving parents about $1,000 per child.

"I never doubted that this program would change lives, but now we have the incredible data to be able to back it up," Flanagan said.

She says while funding ballooned to about $267 million in year one, the program is worth every penny.

"We have made the decision that this is absolutely worth the investments," Flanagan said. "We see that attendance numbers have gone up, and I think these investments in feeding children, nutrition, healthy development, 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."

In August 2023, WCCO heard from several school districts concerned about potential staffing shortages and possible funding cuts due to the program. Specifically, district leaders feared families wouldn't fill out the Application for Educational Benefits form, which leads to funding that goes beyond meals.

By late 2023, the program was already projected to go $176 million over budget by 2027. While some state GOP lawmakers, including Rep. Kristin Robbins of Maple Grove, have criticized the program for giving "free lunch to all the wealthy families," Hunger Solutions Minnesota policy director Leah Gardner says rising food costs are even hitting middle-class families hard.

"So we know that the ability for kids to just go to school and have a nutritious breakfast and nutritious lunch every day, not having to worry about the cost of that, we know it's a huge relief to families, and not just our lowest income families," Gardner said.

The education department says in addition to every public school district, "167 charter schools and 163 private schools or residential child care institutions also participate" in the program.

Only two public schools in the state opted out: Prior Lake High School and Byron High School.

Officials at Prior Lake Savage Area Schools say the decision was made after a trial run of the program, with most students and families saying it didn't live up to the "strong preference for greater meal flexibility and variety."

Byron Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Mike Neubeck told WCCO earlier this month that students and families are satisfied with the high school's existing food program.

The education department says it's looking to offset even more of that cost, and parents WCCO spoke with on Wednesday at Oak View say they're on board with the plan.

"For me as a mom, if they forget to eat breakfast at home, I know that they have an option to get it when they get to school," said parent Natalie Anderson.