Why Are Free School Lunches Becoming a Campaign Issue?

School lunch has been popping up in the news lately, and not just because students are starting to head back to the classroom.

The federal government has been buying students lunch since 1946, when President Harry S. Truman signed the National School Lunch Act. The idea was to provide food to needy school-age children while using surplus crops, which would help prop up food prices.

When Vice President Kamala Harris picked Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota as her running mate this month, the issue of “universal school meals” entered the spotlight because last year, Mr. Walz signed a bill that allowed public schools to provide all students with free breakfast and lunch. It made his state one of eight that offer free meals to students regardless of family income. The concept, which tends to be more popular with Democrats than Republicans, is likely to become an issue in the presidential contest.

So what exactly does “universal school meals” mean?

Essentially, a school district provides a free breakfast and lunch to every student who physically attends a public school (and, in some cases, charter schools), regardless of need. It’s often referred to as “healthy school meals for all.” Most of the money comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which dictates the nutritional requirements for each meal. State and sometimes local dollars fill in the gaps.

Although the idea has long been promoted by some educators, nutritionists and people working to improve the quality of school food, only a handful of states offer free meals to all. New York City has offered free school breakfast and lunch since 2017.

How many children eat free school meals?

On an average day during the 2022-23 school year, about 11.1 million children ate a free breakfast provided by a public or charter school, and 19 million children ate a free school lunch, according to the U.S.D.A. Another 1.6 million ate breakfast or lunch for a reduced price — 30 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch.