Jane Hirst

Minot

Shame on the four Minot legislators who voted against HB 1491, which provides funding to increase the number of students eligible to receive free school meals. The original bill would have provided free meals to all students, but was amended to provide them to those students whose family income was at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty level. If this bill becomes law, it means approximately 2000 additional students would be eligible that weren’t previously. The amended bill passed the House with bipartisan support, but Larry Bellew, Dan Ruby, Jeff Hoverson and Lori VanWinkle voted against trying to help reduce child hunger in our state.

These are the same representatives who have been vocal about protecting the children of our state from pornography by supporting a bill to censor books in our libraries, from Drag Queens by supporting a bill to list performances by male or female impersonators as an adult cabaret performance, and from LGBTQ+ people by supporting several bills restricting transgender healthcare/pronoun usage/sports, etc. If these legislators were truly concerned about the children of our state as they have claimed, they should have supported HB 1491 to try to help make sure no child is hungry in our schools.

According to an article in the Fargo Forum, Representative Hoverson was quoted as saying that this bill would “enable people who should be working, maybe getting off addictions and stuff like that.” He also stated that we shouldn’t be using taxpayers’ dollars to feed our school children.

First, I would respond to his initial comments by telling him that most of these additional children who would benefit from this program come from families whose parents are working. This is not about enabling deadbeats, but it is about helping those who are on the edge to feed their families. 37% of North Dakotans who are food insecure are children. Increased transportation, utility, food, and health care costs have all contributed to a rise in the number of children who are hungry in our state.

While these representatives felt it wasn’t important to help feed children in our state, almost half of the states in the US have either already voted or are in the process of voting to provide universal free school meals. These states are following the research that shows the benefits of children having access to breakfast and lunch every day. Studies have shown that physical health improves as well as school attendance, attention and learning when children are not hungry and are not having to worry about their next meal.

I think Rep. Hoverson needs to go back to school and look at how the School Lunch program came into being when he says that taxpayer dollars should not be used for this purpose. The National program was established in 1946 by the Federal Government to safeguard the health and well-being of the nation’s children. Our taxpayer dollars have supported this program since 1946 and the program has grown since its inception with the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 as well as other amendments to help reduce childhood hunger and malnutrition in our country.

It is my hope that these representatives will remember that they represent their constituents, including the children who live in their districts. If they truly cared about the “most precious among us,” they would be supporting bills that help to reduce childhood hunger as well as other bills that they vetoed that would have helped families be able to afford to work (day care subsidies and family medical leave).