SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A proposal to expand breakfast at Utah schools for low-income kids has passed a key hurdle in a turnaround after its defeat sparked public frustration.
The bill would require schools to provide students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals with alternative breakfast, such as breakfast served in classrooms, grab-and-go carts or second-chance mid-morning meals.
The Economic Development and Workforce Committee passed the bill with amendments Monday, including permitting schools or districts to opt out of the program and lowering eligibility requirements. The bill will next move to the Senate for consideration.
The proposal had already passed the House but failed in the Senate committee Wednesday with at least one lawmaker noting that breakfast was a family responsibility. When the amended bill was reconsidered by the committee, all three lawmakers who voted against it before switched to support.
“I think it sounds like a good program, and I’m curious to see how it’s implemented,” Hinkins said, after originally opposing the legislation.
The bill will be a “difference maker” for children, bill sponsor and Republican state Rep. Dan Johnson said, adding that without legislation he knows teachers who keep food in their classrooms to ensure students can focus on class without being hungry.
Advocacy organization Utahns Against Hunger said in a news release that many schools offer alternative breakfast, but the state has the lowest rate of participation with fewer than 40% of all eligible students receiving breakfast, the Deseret News reported. School breakfast programs improve student health, education outcomes and general well-being, the release added.
Schools that already participate in the National School Lunch Program will now be required to expand and also provide breakfast, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.