Healthy School Meals for All Back on the Ballot in Colorado After Previous Approval
In 2022, Colorado voters passed Proposition FF to fund Healthy School Meals for All. While this received resounding support from voters, constitutional requirements are bringing the issue back to the ballot to sustain the program.
Healthy School Meals for All, which provides free breakfast and lunch to all students regardless of family income, was funded by limiting income tax deductions for filers earning over $300,000 per year.
After passage in 2022, all eligible districts opted into Healthy School Meals for All. Meal participation is up more than 30% across the board, demonstrating both the need for this program and the excitement around the program.
Healthy School Meals for All has allowed Colorado cafeterias to provide more than 600,000 free, nutritious meals to students each day.
While the program’s funding mechanism raised more than expected, costs also exceeded projections, resulting in a budget gap that rose to roughly $50 million this year.
The original proposition authorized the state to collect up to $100 million in new revenue through this reduced deduction. However, a 1992 Colorado constitutional amendment known as the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights requires tax increases to be approved by voters.
The new measures on the ballot in 2025, Propositions LL and MM, would shore up funding for the Healthy School Meals For All program.
Proposition LL would allow the state to keep $12 million in additional revenue, already approved by voters, that would otherwise be returned.
Proposition MM aims to permanently fund the full program by raising an additional $95 million annually for the program through further limits on tax deductions for those earning over $300,000 a year.
Voting yes on Proposition LL will allow Colorado to keep money that has already been raised for Healthy School Meals for All. Voting yes on Proposition MM continues free school meals for all beyond this school year, while also increasing wages for front-line school nutrition professionals, training and equipping schools to use fresh ingredients, instead of processed products, and funding schools to purchase ingredients from Colorado farmers and ranchers.
After Healthy School Meals for All is fully funded, Proposition MM will also support SNAP, a program that helps 300,000 Colorado families afford groceries each month, following millions of dollars in federal cuts.
Healthy lunches help children learn and thrive and Colorado voters are needed once again to protect and strengthen this incredibly successful program.
Both LL and MM are needed to continue Colorado’s Healthy School Meals for All program and keep kids fed.
Read about the work of the Colorado Jewish community in 2022