Doing your best is tough when you’re hungry, especially for kids who are still growing. Unfortunately, many Minnesotans face food insecurity, which affects one in six Minnesota children and every county in the state. Rather than accepting this reality, DFL lawmakers took action to address it.
This week marks the one-year anniversary since Gov. Tim Walz signed the Free School Meals bill into state law, guaranteeing every school in Minnesota the funding to provide all students with a free, nutritious breakfast and lunch. The impact has been remarkable: Minnesota schools served 4.3 million more breakfasts and 4.5 million more lunches this fall compared to the same period in 2022, representing a 37% increase in school breakfasts and a 15% increase in lunches. This change allows students to concentrate on their studies rather than their next meal, enables parents to save money and time previously spent on groceries and food preparation, and allows schools to focus more on supporting students rather than collecting lunch debt from struggling families.
There was a time when bipartisan support would have been overwhelming for a program like this. However, today’s Republican Party has shifted so far to the right that GOP lawmakers cannot even support feeding children. Their attacks on the program and the DFLers who championed it are unwarranted. Rep. Natalie Zeleznikar has labeled the program as socialism, while others, like Sen. Steve Drazkowski, have gone as far as to deny the existence of food insecurity in Minnesota. Unfortunately, denying the existence of hunger does not make it disappear. Feeding children is essential.
Despite these Republican state legislators’ efforts, the success of this program cannot be denied. It is already highly popular among Minnesota voters who understand that providing meals to all public school children benefits the state and working families alike. Nevertheless, Minnesota Republicans continue to oppose the program, openly stating their intent to roll it back if they regain power.
Make no mistake: if Republicans repeal this program, the kids who would suffer most would be the ones from disadvantaged backgrounds and low-income families. It’s the ones whose parents couldn’t keep up with the paperwork required to get their free meal because they were working two jobs or battling a medical crisis. And the people that would benefit from the GOP regaining power in the Legislature would be the same groups that Minnesota Republicans have always tried to put first: corporations and the ultra-wealthy. Every time Minnesota Republicans take power, they have pushed to cut taxes for the rich at the expense of programs that benefit working families.
Repealing the free school meals program would not be the only action taken by Republicans if they regain power. DFL legislators also passed a groundbreaking program to provide Paid Family and Medical Leave to Minnesota families starting in 2026. This program will ensure that thousands of Minnesotans who currently lack access to paid leave will no longer face financial ruin if they need to care for a loved one or take time off for a newborn child. History has shown that once a program begins providing real benefits to working families, it becomes much tougher to dismantle it. That is why I am certain that, in addition to targeting free school meals, a Republican majority would attempt to cancel the paid leave program before it can take effect.
This year’s elections will determine the future of these programs. DFL leaders took action not only to combat child hunger but also to provide families with the support they need to help their children succeed in school and at home, including paid family leave and the largest child-tax credit in the nation. Minnesotans will face a clear choice in November between DFL leaders who will defend these programs and a MAGA Republican movement that has pledged to eliminate them.
Ken Martin is chair of the Minnesota DFL party.
