(The Center Square) – On Thursday, Gov. Josh Shapiro released his campaign’s first ad as he seeks a second term in office.
The 30-second television and digital ad touts universal free breakfast for K-12 public school students, signed into law by the Shapiro administration in Aug. 2023 as part of the state budget.
According to a release from the Shapiro campaign, Pennsylvania has served nearly 93 million breakfasts during the 2024-25 school year alone.
One week prior, after Shapiro handed out free breakfast to students at Fort Washington Elementary School in Montgomery County, he told The Center Square that he’d “love to see” free school lunches, as well.
“Look, I’d love to see that happen,” Shapiro said, when asked about his thoughts on House Bill 180 and Senate Bill 180, legislation in both chambers that would implement the program statewide.
“I think it’s important that students have nourishment during their day, so they can learn effectively. I think you remember how difficult it was to get the state Senate to agree to free breakfast,” he continued. “We’ll see if that’s something that they would entertain this year. There’s obviously a price tag to that. If not, we’ll see what the state Senate looks like next year, and if we can get this through.”
When asked by The Center Square whether he thought it could get across the finish line with a Democratic majority in the state Senate, he said it’s a question for them.
The effort to provide K-12 students in public schools with free lunches is not a new one.
In 2022, state Rep. Emily Kinkead, D-Allegheny, introduced legislation that would’ve provided free breakfast and lunch to all K-12 students in the state.
“At the start of the pandemic, the Federal government provided waivers from regulations and funding to ensure that all students had access to breakfast and lunch – whether they were learning in person or remotely,” Kinkead wrote in a co-sponsorship memo for House Bill 2829 in 2022.
She noted that Congress extended pandemic meal waivers through the 2022-23 academic year, reimbursing schools.
“While these changes help schools facing rising food, gas, and labor costs, the federal action unfortunately does little to help the students and families enduring the same financial strain,” she said.
House Bill 2829 had a total of 31 co-sponsors, all Democrats, in 2022. Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, who was then a member of the state House, signed his name in support of this effort. It was referred to the House Education Committee, where it died without action.
In the upper chamber, state Sen. Lindsey Williams introduced similar legislation. Senate Bill 1327 had 14 sponsors, all Democrats. That bill also never advanced out of the Senate Education Committee.
After Shapiro was elected governor, the push continued among some in the party.
In 2023, Kinkead reintroduced the effort, then under House Bill 180. This proposal had 60 sponsors, all Democrats. In the Senate, Williams reintroduced the proposal as Senate Bill 180. There were 21 sponsors, all Democrats, in the Senate for Williams’ bill.
Like the previous session, it never advanced out of committee.
Kinkead and Williams, once again, reintroduced the proposals in the current session. Kinkead’s bill has 38 sponsors, while Williams’ proposal has 16 Senators signed on as sponsors.
Neither bill, in the current session, has advanced out of committee.
Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Lynda Schlegel Culver, R-Snyder, did not respond to a request for comment from the Center Square.
House Education Committee Chairman Peter Schweyer, D-Lehigh, told the Center Square on Wednesday that he wasn’t sure if House Bill 180 will receive a vote or not in committee this year, but said he’s had active conversations about it with other lawmakers, including staff from the House Appropriations Committee, leadership, and the governor’s office.
“It’s getting a lot of consideration,” he told the Center Square in an interview.
Schweyer noted that he lives in and represents the Allentown School District, which is a universal free lunch district due to its poverty level. He said providing free school lunches is “transformative in our education setting.”
“Without that, we would lose students to not only just inadequate preparation for class, and just, being distracted by hunger pangs and everything else, but also we would just have kids that leave school,” Schweyer said. “For some kids, the incentive of eating lunch is enough to keep them in schools.”
However, Schweyer acknowledged that there are concerns about this proposal, which he says ties in with his belief that free school lunches are needed across the state.
He cited concerns about federal cuts to education and public health programs, which he says affect the state’s ability to follow through on the plan.
“I am still trying to figure out what the dollar figures are, because I don’t know if I’m going to be able to rely on the Trump administration to continue funding nutrition programs,” Schweyer told the Center Square. “It’s not as straightforward as it once was.”
It remains unclear if this will emerge as a part of the current budget negotiations, but it was mentioned during last year’s debate. This year, a recurring $5.5 billion structural deficit has the legislature and Shapiro torn over how to fill the gap – and what priorities will have to wait.
Spotlight PA reported in June 2025 about the effort to bring back the pandemic-era policy to fund free school breakfasts and lunches. According to their report, the funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture stopped in 2022, while Pennsylvania used state dollars to keep providing universal free breakfast.
According to Spotlight PA in June 2025, eligibility for free lunches provided by USDA is based on income, noting that 56.6% of Pennsylvania public school students in the 2022-23 school year qualified for free or reduced-cost lunches.
According to the same report, Williams’ bill was estimated to cost the state about $360 million annually for universal school meals, which already included the $46.5 million the state pays for free breakfasts.
Kinkead and Williams, who have authored this legislation, did not respond to a request for comment from the Center Square.
Schweyer told the Center Square on Wednesday that they’re trying to figure out the actual cost of this program.
“This is not a question of desire,” Schweyer said. “And this is not a question of just understanding the basic fact that kids that are hungry aren’t going to learn.”
However, Schweyer also described the matter as a House Appropriations Committee issue, as much as it is for the Education Committee.
“It is very much a live conversation,” Schweyer said.
Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont provide state funding for “healthy meals for all their students,” according to Williams, while several other states have proposed legislation to do the same.
Schweyer said that he’s “disgusted by the school lunch shaming that school districts do,” as the conversation continues among Pennsylvania lawmakers.
“I am just not there yet in terms of understanding what the total picture is, but if we’re able to do it, I will run it the minute I can,” Schweyer said. “And it’s something that my leadership knows that I’m also very passionate about.”
