<p>WHEREAS: Hungry children struggle to learn and grow; and</p>
<p>WHEREAS: School meals provide a critical source of nutrition for students in our city, state, and across the country; and</p>
<p>WHEREAS: According to Project Bread, 20% of households in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are food insecure, with Black, Latino, and multiracial families disproportionately impacted; and</p>
<p>WHEREAS:<strong> </strong>The federal government provided universal free meals through School Year 2021-22, and the Commonwealth continued school meals for all through School Year 2022-23; and</p>
<p>WHEREAS: Roughly 400,000 students in Massachusetts are in danger of going hungry if universal free schools are not continued; and</p>
<p>WHEREAS: The Cambridge Public Schools are committed to closing opportunity gaps; now, therefore, be it</p>
<p>RESOLVED: That the School Committee strongly urges our state delegation to enact School Meals for All legislation – including H. 603, S. 261, and a budget that includes funding for universal free meals for School Year 2023-24 – and make such funding permanent; and be it further</p>
<p>RESOLVED: That the Executive Secretary to the School Committee forward copies of this resolution to each member of the state delegation on behalf of the entire School Committee.</p>