Former teacher and current state Rep. Monica Stonier kept granola bars in her classroom for students she knew weren’t getting enough food at home.
“Teachers do that all the time,” Stonier said. “The problem is that’s not a system-wide approach to ensure they aren’t hungry at school.”
But this week, the Democrat from Vancouver championed a measure she hopes will make it easier for students to focus on their education rather than a grumbling stomach.
“We have so many kids unable to focus on their school work because they are food insecure or homeless,” Stonier said.
House Bill 1508 would allow students who arrive late to school and miss breakfast to still access food. It’s up to the district to implement the program, so they could do it by having a kiosk with available snacks or by providing a snack basket in classrooms. It would also allow for students to eat at their desks to ensure instructional time isn’t being missed. The measure expands the breakfast after the bell program and focuses on those schools that have a high percentage of students who qualify for free-and-reduced priced meals.
“Kids are hungry at school. They don’t have food at home. Some would say that’s not the responsibility of the schools, (but) we’re responsible for educating,” she said.
And that can be hard if students can’t focus on learning because they are hungry, she added.
The measure also authorizes the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to coordinate with the Washington State Department of Agriculture to create new farm-to-school programs. It ensures grants could be awarded to school districts to work with community-based organizations such as food banks, farms and gardens.
Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, said he didn’t vote for a similar measure in previous sessions. But he said Stonier worked across the aisle to make tweaks to the measure that made more Republicans back the bill.
Legislators ensured a performance audit review would be done of the program and allowed for students who can afford a lunch co-pay to do so.
“I will be voting in favor of this and we hope this really does make a difference for some of the children in our state,” Harris said, while speaking on the floor of the statehouse. “We are all concerned about kids in our school, making sure they have the opportunity to eat, they are healthy and they come to learn. That is all of our goals.”
But Mark Hargrove, R-Covington, questioned whether the measure was really necessary.
He pointed out some schools already have breakfast after the bell programs.
“Do we need to make a law to do what people are already doing?” he said.
The measure passed the House on a 90-8 vote. The measure now moves to the Senate for consideration.
