South Dakota Democrats, Republicans working together to address student hunger

'South Dakota School Lunch Coalition' hope to find compromise on upping state's role in ensuring public school students get fed

As South Dakota school districts struggling with rising unpaid meal debts face the prospect of turning some kids away from the lunch line, a bipartisan effort is underway at the state Capitol to address student hunger.

A group of Republican and Democratic state lawmakers will introduce a pair of bills during the upcoming legislative session aimed at widening existing child nutrition safety nets. And while similar ambitions have come up short in the past, members of the “South Dakota School Lunch Coalition” say they're optimistic that lawmakers will be more agreeable this time around.

That’s in part because of the elevated dialogue around the topic of school lunch policy of late in South Dakota, highlighted late last month when the state’s largest school district announced it would no longer provide hot meals to students with $20 or more in unpaid meal debt. They also like their chances of getting legislation to the governor’s desk because of a less aggressive approach to addressing student lunches compared to past attempts, which aimed to subsidize all meals provided at South Dakota public schools.

“I laugh when I think about that bill,” Rep. Kadyn Wittman told The Dakota Scout, referring to a measure she filed as a first-year legislator that proposed the state provide free lunches for all K-12 students under the Department of Education umbrella.

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