NH House panel recommends against bill to make more kids eligible for free lunch

It was a party-line vote with Republicans against House Bill 1212 and Democrats, including Rep. Peter Leishman, of Peterborough, in favor of it.

Under a federal program, free school lunches are available to children whose families earn up to 130 percent of the federal poverty level and reduced-price lunches are available at 185 percent of the poverty level. HB 1212 would use state money to increase free-lunch eligibility to 350 percent of the federal poverty level.

The federal poverty level was $30,000 for a family of four in 2023, with 130 percent of that being $39,000, 185 percent being $55,000 and 350 percent equaling $105,000.

Rep. Kenneth Weyler, R-Kingston, chairman of the House Finance Committee, spoke against the bill.

He said there would be a large state expense in expanding the program.

In the bill’s fiscal note, the state Department of Education estimated that it could cost the state more than $50 million per year.

Weyler said it’s not clear that there is a large population of children who need but don’t have access to the current free and reduced-cost lunch program.

“It’s just being used a lot, and sometimes it’s a choice,” he said.

“The child runs out of the house without taking the lunch or whatever, or spends the money that they were given for lunch on candy on the way.”

Rep. Mary Heath, D-Manchester, spoke in favor of the bill.

“We have hundreds and hundreds of children who come to school every single day and for the most part the only meals they get are the meals they get at school,” said Heath, a retired educator.

“We know children who are hungry aren’t learning to the extent they should be learning. I would like you to think about the importance of this bill and what it brings to the poorest children in the state of New Hampshire.”

According to the nonprofit Feeding America, 93,940 people in New Hampshire were facing hunger in 2021, 21,670 of them children.

The fiscal note said the median household income in New Hampshire last year was $88,235. The Department of Education does not have an estimate for how many new students would qualify for the program if the bill were to be enacted into law.

The full House passed the bill, 193-175, on Feb. 15, and sent it to the Finance Committee to consider its fiscal ramifications.

The House now will schedule another vote on it. If it passes again it would be considered in the N.H. Senate.