Maine expands free school meals
- Maine's governor signed a budget provision extending free breakfast and lunch to pre‑K students in off‑site public programs. - The change takes effect next school year and covers public pre-K programs operated outside school grounds. - The expansion is part of wider school‑meal policy moves as some states tighten nutrition rules and spotlight local food efforts (wmtw.com, pressherald.com).
Maine will start covering free school meals for more public prekindergarten students next school year, closing a gap for children in off-site programs. (maine.gov, wmtw.com) Governor Janet Mills signed the supplemental budget earlier in April, and marked the change at a ceremonial event in Brunswick on April 22 with Senate President Mattie Daughtry. The new funding creates a grant program for public pre-K programs that operate outside school buildings. (maine.gov, mainepublic.org) State officials said the budget sets aside almost $900,000 from the general fund to provide breakfast, lunch and a snack in those off-site public preschool settings. WMTW reported the free breakfast-and-lunch coverage begins in the 2026-27 school year. (mainepublic.org, wmtw.com) Maine has offered universal free school meals since 2021 for students in public schools, but that system did not fully reach public pre-K classes run through partner sites away from school grounds. Federal rules tied to the National School Lunch Program left those children outside the existing setup. (mainemorningstar.com, wmtw.com) The push to close that gap came through a bill Daughtry called the APPLE Act, short for A Program Providing Lunch for Every Preschooler. The Maine Senate approved the proposal 23-12 in March before its funding was folded into the budget package. (pressherald.com, newscentermaine.com) The expansion lands as Maine keeps tying school meals to broader food policy, including efforts to buy more food from Maine farms and fisheries. A documentary highlighted this week, “Lunchroom Revolution,” follows school nutrition workers and local producers trying to move more local food onto cafeteria trays. (pressherald.com, mainefarmtoschool.org) Maine’s Department of Education has also been pushing farm-to-school events this spring, including a statewide cook-off and supplier meetups for school nutrition teams. Those efforts sit alongside the state’s free-meals model rather than replacing it. (spectrumlocalnews.com, mainedoenews.net) For families using public pre-K programs in child care centers and other partner sites, the practical change is simple: meals that were free in some public classrooms will now be funded in more of them. The next test is implementation before the 2026-27 school year begins. (wmtw.com, mainepublic.org)
