(Bismarck, ND) — North Dakota lawmakers are voting to increase the number of students eligible for free school lunches just a day after voting down a measure that would provide universal free school meals. One provision of House Bill 1013, the Department of Public Instruction’s budget bill, makes it so families within 225-percent of the federal poverty line can secure free lunches for their children at school. This means families with an income of about 72-thousand dollars would still qualify for free lunches. The bill now goes to the state Senate. This comes after a bill that would have provided free school lunches for all North Dakota students was killed in the House.
