There’s another push at the New Hampshire State House this year to make sure kids aren’t hungry while they’re learning — and it’s coming as advocates say families across the state are under extra strain due to inflation and rising cost of living expenses.
Lawmakers in the House and Senate have introduced several bills aimed at addressing food access in local schools, including by making sure the kids who already qualify for free and reduced lunch programs are actually signed up.
One bill sponsored by Rep. Laura Telerski, a Democrat from Nashua, would enroll kids in the program if their families are enrolled in Medicaid, since eligibility for both programs is determined by a family’s household income. That approach is already used in 43 other states.
“It really just makes sense to have the departments collaborate,” Telerski said, “because the income verification is already there on one side.”
Similar legislation has been rejected in the past, in part due to concerns that it would cost the state more money, since the state’s education funding formula requires it to pay more money to local districts based on the number of students who are enrolled in meal assistance programs.
"It would more accurately count children living in poverty in a way that would benefit schools."Laura Milliken, NH Hunger Solutions, on linking Medicaid enrollment with school meal assistance
Telerski and other advocates acknowledged that could be a roadblock again this year, as lawmakers face a tight state budget outlook. But supporters say they plan to make the case that these programs are worth the investment.
“We know that school meals in addition to staving off hunger in general results for kids in improved academic performance, reduced behavioral problems, fewer trips to the nurse for stomach aches, stronger attendance rates and higher graduation rates,” Laura Milliken, who leads the advocacy group New Hampshire Hunger Solutions.
Milliken said her organization estimates that about 10,000 children are eligible for income-based school meal assistance but are not yet enrolled. She says linking Medicaid enrollment with school meal assistance can benefit local communities by providing a more accurate count of the number of kids in poverty, which can unlock additional state or federal support.
“Schools are now serving kids living in poverty but are not sort of getting credit for it in the state school funding formula,” she said. “So it would more accurately count children living in poverty in a way that would benefit schools.”
Online enrollment, dealing with lunch debt
In a separate bill, Telerski is pushing to require schools to let parents apply for lunch assistance online. She said many schools send kids home with a slip of paper about the program, which can easily get overlooked.
“We all know what it can be like with hardworking families juggling our busy schedules and everything,” Telerski said. “The chance that that form actually gets home, gets completed and gets returned to school — you know, that can be a high bar to meet.”
Other lawmakers are trying to expand eligibility for school lunch programs.
Sen. Donovan Fenton, a Democrat from Keene, and Rep. Muriel Hall, a Democrat from Merrimack, are both trying to raise the income limit for the program. Right now, New Hampshire allows families who make up to 130% of the federal poverty level for free lunch and up to 185% of the federal poverty level to receive reduced meal prices. Fenton is proposing to raise the limit to 200%, while Hall wants to raise it to 300%.
Some lawmakers are also proposing changes to how schools deal with students who accrue lunch debt. Rep. Hope Damon, from Croydon, introduced a bill that focuses on making sure all kids receive the same meals as other kids regardless of how much they owe. Several other Democrats, and one Republican, are listed as cosponsors.
Last year, the Keene School District upset some parents and anti-hunger advocates over a policy barring middle and high school students from purchasing food if they owed more than $20, unless they had cash in hand. The district eventually changed their stance, offering students a cold sandwich and sides in place of no meal at all.
The Goffstown-New Boston School District also faced backlash after they said they would pursue legal action against parents with outstanding lunch debt. Advocates in the area tried to raise funds to help the children who had balances but said the district declined their offers of assistance. The district eventually said they paused their legal action after communicating directly with all families involved.
A growing need
Some community organizations are taking other steps to address food insecurity among young people. Barbara Weisman, with the Keene Community Kitchen, said they are partnering with the Monadnock Understands Childhood Hunger (MUCH) to make sure kids are getting fed by having food and items kids want and need.
“We've just brought them into the organization so that we can have a greater focus on our offerings for children and families with children,” Weisman said. “That is something that we're always really focused on, but even more so now, making sure that we've got juice boxes and shelf stable yogurt and cereal bars and other nutrition for kids.”
Overall, Weisman said her organization saw a 30% increase in people seeking food assistance in 2024 compared to the previous year. She said it’s a tough time of year, as heating is eating up a portion of people’s budgets, food prices and rents are high, so pantry use helps people offset competing items on household budgets.
"It's a perfect storm. The demand has gone through the roof and the prices have, have gone through the roof."Bill Connors, Ministries Food Pantry in Wolfeboro
Food pantries across New Hampshire are reporting similarly high levels of need. Nancy Mellitt, director of operations at the NH Food Banks said they gave out more food than ever before in 2024 – roughly 17 million pounds, about a million more than 2023. She expects demand to remain high in the months ahead.
“January, February, March are some pretty tough times for folks, especially here in New Hampshire and on the east coast because it's cold,” she said. “People have increased heating bills, electric bills. So it's, it's tough.”
Bill Connors, president of Ministries Food Pantry in Wolfeboro, said they’re also getting a lot of requests for help. He said the number of family visits to their food pantry increased about 49% between 2022 and 2024. During the holiday season, they saw a 90% increase in meals provided.
Connors said that they’re serving not just their city but towns and municipalities that surround the area. At the moment they’re trying to keep up with the demand that they’re receiving.
“It's a perfect storm,” Connors said. “The demand has gone through the roof and the prices have, have gone through the roof.”
