AUSTIN, Texas — Advocates whose goal is to reduce the number of children experiencing hunger are celebrating a win in the Texas Legislature.
No Kid Hungry Texas hosted a press conference Tuesday morning championing the approval of the 2024-25 biennium budget, which includes $3.3 million per year to cover the cost of school breakfasts for students eligible for reduced price meals. According to the organization, the funding will impact nearly 70,000 more students eating school breakfast each day, projected to equal 11 million more breakfasts for Texas children.
Present at the Tuesday press conference were State Reps. Toni Rose and Armando Walle, No Kid Hungry Texas Director Stacie Sanchez Hare and representatives from Austin ISD, Smithville ISD and the Texas Education Agency.
"There should be no kids going hungry in the state of Texas," Rose said at the event. "Kids who are hungry start off at a disadvantage than other children. If students are hungry, they can't focus ... And if they can't focus, they can't learn."
"A key pillar of any kid's well-being is nutrition, and we know that having balanced meals has a direct impact on a kid's ability to focus in and outside of the school, as well as on their physical and mental health," Walle said.
Walle also said that providing these additional meals for children will give more working families the financial flexibility to cover other necessities, such as gas, clothing, school supplies and rent.
At Tuesday's event, No Kid Hungry Texas also awarded Rose and Walle with the organization's first-ever "Hunger Hero Award."