With costs ballooning, what’s the future of universal school lunch programs?

Minnesota Now

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have not announced plans to try to make school meals free for all U.S. students if they’re elected to the White House. But the idea has gotten a lot of attention recently due to Walz’s rising national profile.

He signed a law in 2023 that created a universal school meals program that is now entering its second school year. The program is popular, but it’s already costing the state more money than expected — the estimated price tag is about $480 million for the first two years.

Minnesota isn’t the only state to implement a program like this, nor was it the first. Seven other states have done so, all in the last three years or so, starting with California.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Kalyn Belsha, who has been following their rollout as senior national reporter for Chalkbeat, a nonprofit newsroom focused on education.

She also talked with Sen. Zach Duckworth, R-Lakeville, one of four Republicans to vote for the universal school meals bill.