Testimonials

Jessica Nolz - Special Education Teacher

“Children should not have to worry about how they can afford to eat lunch. Period. Throughout my career, I have worked with students aged Kindergarten through High School as a Special Education Teacher. I have witnessed countless students worry about not being able to afford school lunches. Many have even shared with me that their school lunch is the only meal they have most days. Children are not able to learn if they do not have their basic needs met. Being able to utilize free and reduced meal programs have made such a positive impact on my students’ lives. Thank you.”

Kecia Peters - School Psychologist

“I was a school psychologist for GFPS for 20 years, working primarily in our lower SES schools. There were many instances when our students' only food sources were the breakfasts and lunches they received at school. Food insecurity is a major issue for many families, not just our Free and Reduced population. Expanding this provision would reduce stress for many families and ensure that students are consistently provided with healthy, balanced options. It would also reduce disparity between high and low-SES families, where some youth are able to bring lunches from home or have unlimited options from ala carte menus. Some of my schools also had take-home bags of food on Fridays for students, and it was both rewarding and disheartening to see how valuable that was for students to know they had food to eat on the weekends at home. I whole-heartedly support the efforts to provide food at no-cost to our students. It will make its way into the hands who need it most.”

Katie - Public Health Advocate

“As a public health advocate, I support the 'Together for School Meals' initiative. Ensuring that every child has access to healthy, nutritious meals helps improve overall well-being and supports long-term health outcomes. This program addresses food insecurity and allows all students, regardless of background, to thrive. It’s a vital step toward building healthier schools and communities across our state and creating a brighter future for our children.”

Deven Mantz - Parent

“As a working-class single father, not having to worry about my kids eating at school would be such a burden off of my shoulders.”

Tracy Jaeger - Parent, Teacher, Community Member

“I have 3 school-aged children. They are in 1st grade, 4th grade, and 6th grade. I am a 1st grade teacher. We have been fortunate to receive free and/or reduced meals for the last year. It has been a God send to our family. My husband became ill with sepsis in June of 2023. He had an ongoing infection that could not be resolved. He was unable to work. This infection led to an amputation. As a result, we turned into a 1-income family. I struggled to support my husband and 3 kids on my teachers salary. I have been a teacher for 20 years and also have a Masters degree. I felt hopeless. Being able to qualify for the free and/or reduced meal program was a relief. I did not have to panic about them wanting to eat 2 meals at school because we couldn't afford to pay for 2 meals at school. Suddenly I was encouraging my kids to go and eat at school versus not letting them. Being able to use the meal program eased the grocery bill and I was able to feel like I was supporting our family a little bit better than before. Fast forward a year, my husband is walking and staying healthy. He decided he needed a career change because he didn't know how long the rest of his body would hold up with his truck driving occupation. He is utilizing his Veteran benefits for college and is currently in his last semester at BSC. We have continued to be able to receive the free and/or reduced meal program. It continues to ease our minds as parents that our kids will have food to eat and we will have little extra money in our pockets for life's necessities. My kids enjoy eating our school meals and love having breakfast with their friends in our school.”

Sandi Christopherson - Speech Therapist/Grandmother/Community Member

“Please VOTE in favor of School Lunches for ND children. Currently, my son and daughter-in-law have 3 children in the ND school system. One in K, one in middle school and one at the high school. For three children, it is over $600 a month for lunches. They try to send sack lunches, but with all the "do not pack allergy lists, " packing lunches is very difficult. There is also NO refrigeration availability in the high school and no longer lockers to store a lunch with a cooler bag. My son and daughter-in-law are both front-line workers. He is a fireman, she works as a speech therapy assistant. They both have second jobs. Their house payment is just over what the LUNCH bill is. This makes it very difficult to make ends meet.”

Amy De Kok - Executive Director for the North Dakota School Boards Association (excerpt from HB 1475 –House Education Committee hearing)

“Numerous studies confirm that students who have consistent access to nutritious meals perform better academically, experience improved cognitive function and demonstrate better classroom behavior. HB 1475 would remove the stigma associated with free and reduced-price meal programs, ensuring that every child, regardless of their family’s economic status, receives the nourishment they need to thrive.”

Joan Knoll - Licensed Registered Dietitian for the Child Nutrition Program at Bismarck Public School District, Member of the School Nutrition Association (excerpt from HB 1475 –House Education Committee hearing)

“One topic I teach in EVERY presentation is the importance of breakfast. I consistently ask students, ‘Raise your hands if you did NOT eat breakfast today?’ I observed that about 30-50 % of students would raise their hands no matter the socioeconomics of the school. Many of our students are not eating a balanced breakfast at home for many reasons (i.e. time, working parents, early bus times, food availability, etc). After BPS began offering free breakfasts to students in our six CEP schools, I noted the classes I taught in the mornings were calmer, more alert, and more engaged. It was the same when we had free breakfasts and lunches 20 following the COVID years.”

Natalie McKenna - Parent (excerpt from HB 1475 –House Education Committee hearing)

“I have a kindergartner and first grader in public school in Jamestown, North Dakota. I, like so many other parents, have seen firsthand how hunger affects my children. They go from attentive and respectful to distracted and easily irritable within a short span of time. And that’s just two kids— imagine multiplying the challenge of regulating emotions when hungry to a whole classroom of children. It’s not possible. And it’s not fair to the kids in our school whose families cannot afford snacks and meals.

Because there are no free lunch or snack options at our school, our teachers reach out to parents and ask for food donations to support their classroom. We are a title 1 school. Budgets are already tight for so many families. Imagine the burden that would be relieved for both teachers and parents if they knew their kids were fed. Imagine the capabilities of our children—how much more they could learn, show respect, and engage with their peers—if their hunger was not controlling their emotions and behaviors.”