Bill aimed at ending 'lunch debt shaming' passes Pennsylvania House, moves on to Senate

HARRISBURG, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — The Pennsylvania House on Monday passed a bill that would erase school lunch debt and prohibit what supporters call “lunch debt shaming.” The legislation is now on its way to the state Senate.

Bill sponsor Rep. Emily Kinkead, D-Allegheny, says food insecurity is worse now than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This bill simply allows us to ensure that kids can eat when they are in school, regardless of whether or not they can pay,” Kinkead said.

“Study after study has shown that when kids are hungry in school, they do not learn as well. They do not comprehend the information. They are more likely to have issues with discipline.”

In addition, Kinkead cites specific examples of what she calls “lunch debt shaming,” including one district that threatened to call youth services on the parents if their lunch bill wasn’t paid.

“There are kids that have been suspended for theft, for eating meals that they could not afford. They are given hand stamps and wristbands, and they have letters stapled to their shirts,” she said.

“All of this identifies these kids as different from their peers. And I think we all know that in school, when you are different, you become a target.”

Her bill would set aside $80 million for schools to reimburse school districts for outstanding lunch debt. It would also prohibit schools from blocking students who have lunch debt from activities or graduation. It does away with using such things as wristbands and hand stamps to identify kids with lunch debt. It also ends “alternate lunches” that are provided for students who owe more than $75 in lunch debt.

“They should not be punished by not being able to eat or by being given an alternative meal, like a bologna sandwich. While all their peers have hot food that fills their bellies.”

The bill passed the State House with bipartisan support, 118-84 and now moves on to the state Senate.