New Mexico Senate Democrats
For Immediate Release: March 9, 2017
Contact: Zach Marcus (505) 986-4882 Zachary.Marcus@nmlegis.gov
Senate Majority Whip Michael Padilla (D-14 Bernalillo) Passes Hunger Free Student Bill of Rights
(Santa Fe, NM) Today the Senate passed Senator Michael Padilla’s bill to ensure that New Mexico students do not go hungry even if their family is unable to pay for a school provided meal.
Senate Bill 374 will require schools that provide USDA meals to give lunches to students regardless of whether the student has money to pay for a meal or owes money for previous meals. There have been documented cases of hungry students receiving food in the lunch line and having that lunch taken away and thrown in the trash because of a debt owed by their parents.
“If students are hungry they can’t learn effectively. We can’t let a single student fall through the cracks because they are less concerned with their multiplication tables than they are about where their next meal will come from,” said Senator Padilla.
“New Mexico is a state with immense natural resources that’s been overrun by poverty. One of those resources we risk losing is our young people if they can’t concentrate in school because they don’t know where their next meal is coming from. We need to make sure our schools are part of the solution,” Senator Padilla continued.
Previously, Senate Bill 374 passed the Education and Public Affairs committee with bipartisan support and now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.