New Poll Shows Widespread Support for Healthy School Meals for All Illinois Students
Majority of Illinoisans believe providing free school meals should be legislators’ top funding priority
Springfield, IL – Today, Healthy School Meals for All Kids, a coalition dedicated to ensuring all Illinois students have access to free school meals, released a new poll showing strong support for providing free breakfast and lunch among voters. The poll found that funding free school meals in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget is the top priority for Illinois voters when compared with other legislative budget priorities proposed this session, with a majority of respondents saying it was either their first or second funding choice.
The poll found that funding free school meals for all students received the majority of support across Illinois and among all ages. 64% of all Illinoisans support it, including 84% of those in the City of Chicago, 62% of those in the Collar counties, 56% of those downstate, and 74% of those between the ages of 18-44. Funding healthy school meals for all kids receives bipartisan support, with 81% of Democrats, 55% of Independents, and 52% of Republicans. 60% of voters said they’d be more likely to vote for their legislator if they support funding the initiative.
“Illinoisans across the state agree – all our students should have free breakfast and lunch at school. We cannot accept more than 315,000 Illinois children experiencing food insecurity as the status quo, and by funding school meals for all students, we can ensure our young people get two healthy meals everyday, while lifting the financial burden off their families,” said Kathryn Bernstein, MPH, RDN, of the Illinois Public Health Institute, the group leading the coalition. “This is an issue that a majority of all Illinoisans across age, political affiliation and geography agree should be the top budget priority this session, and we urge the General Assembly to fund this investment in our future generations.”
The Illinois General Assembly recognized the importance of ensuring students can get free meals at school and passed the Healthy School Meals for All law in Spring 2023, which set the framework for providing free breakfast and lunch to all students who want it in the state. However, while the legislation passed with strong, bipartisan support, it did not receive the appropriation needed to pay for it. This year, State Senator Laura Ellman and State Representative Maurice West both filed appropriations bills to provide $209 million in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget to fund the program.
Eight other states, including neighboring Minnesota and Michigan, already have universal school meals. Additional states, including New Jersey and New York, are building up to it in the next few years. Food insecurity is a problem facing communities all across Illinois – whether urban, suburban, or rural, and making free school meals available to all students will help those in every corner of our state. It will advance racial equity and reduce disparities in health and education outcomes, as Black and Latine children are twice as likely to experience food insecurity as white children. It will also help reduce stigma, which is a significant barrier to school meal participation for students who currently qualify for free or reduced-price meals.