ND House passes school lunch bill

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - Lawmakers advanced a bill that would pay for more school lunches.

House Bill 1491 would dedicate $6 million of state funds over the next two school years to provide lunches for low-income families. That includes any family whose income is double the federal poverty level.

“There’s a lot of need out there and this is an easy way for us to help children in our state,” said Representative LaurieBeth Hager, D-Fargo.

The version of the bill that passed is significantly less than what was first introduced. Representative LaurieBeth Hager from Fargo originally asked for $89.5 million to provide free lunches to all K-12 students. Next, the bill goes to the Senate.