Contact: Johanna Elsemore at jelsemore@strength.org
Annapolis, MD—The Maryland House today passed HB514, a bill to provide an additional $4.5 million appropriation for the Maryland Meals for Achievement In-Classroom Breakfast Program (MMFA), bringing the program’s total annual funding to $12 million. At the current $7.5 million funding level, there are more than 120 eligible schools that could benefit from MMFA that are left out of the program, and this additional investment will ensure many more schools can participate. The following is a statement from No Kid Hungry Maryland Director Ayesha Holmes:
“Maryland Meals for Achievement has a proven track record of ensuring school breakfast reaches the students who need it most, ensuring they can start each day fueled to learn. Right now, families are facing shockingly high prices at the grocery store, at the same time that pandemic-era benefits have disappeared, making access to nutritious school meals more important than ever in the fight against childhood hunger.
“We applaud Delegate Solomon and the entire Maryland House for this investment to ensure every eligible school can opt into MMFA and provide students with a nutritious morning meal, and we encourage Governor Moore to sign this into law.”