Students across Ohio could soon have free breakfast and lunch provided for both public and private schools. Senate Bill 109 is currently being heard in committee.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
News Center 7′s Mason Fletcher spoke to the local community about what free student meals could do for their kids.
On average, one student’s school lunches for a year costs more than $500, according to the Education Data Initiative. More than 500,000 children across Ohio do not have access to health food. The bill would also fix the problem of school lunch debt, which was more than $271 million last school year.
TRENDING STORIES:
- New Ohio bill aiming to limit secondhand marijuana smoke for children passes Senate
- UPDATE: ‘Armed and dangerous’ 17-year-old arrested in Richmond neighborhood
- School bus catches fire while taking Ohio students to school
“I’d definitely vote for that,” Carlos Bennet Sr. from Moraine said. “I think it’s definitely needed, man.”
With rising grocery prices, parents are spending double what they used to at grocery stores, making providing even more difficult.
Bennet says he has nine kids, and knows first hand how expensive it is to feed them.
“That’s hard on a person’s pockets because everything is literally going up,” Bennet said. “It’s going to hurt them so bad.”
If the bill passes, Bennet says it would save families a lot of money.
“You got school fees and you’ve got to pay for lunch, you know,” Bennet said. “By the end of the day, ain’t nobody rich.”
According to Feeding America, more than 500,000 children in Ohio are experiencing hunger right now.
For Bennet, money is no object when it comes to feeding students.
“All the kids eat, and you can’t eat because you ain’t got some money,” Bennet said.
The bill would pay for the lunches through the Department of Education, and would need $300 million in funding.
“Don’t let the kids suffer, because they don’t have to,” Bennet said.
News Center 7 spoke with other parents who did not want to be on camera, but they are in support of the bill. They said anything that could help with the higher costs of groceries is a good thing.
To read the bill, click here.
Senate Bill 109 will have to pass through the Senate, House and be signed by Gov. Mike DeWine before it becomes law.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
