House Bill 25-1274, which concerns the Healthy School Meals for All (HSMA) program, has passed both the House and the Senate as of May 7. The bill will place two measures on the November 2025 ballot for Colorado voters: one to allow the state to retain and spend additional revenue on the program, and another to expand funding by further limiting tax deductions for high-income earners, according to Colorado House Democrats.
HSMA is a proposition that was approved by Colorado voters in 2022 that provides free school breakfasts and lunches for all public school students. The program is currently funded by limiting income tax deductions for households earning over $300,000 annually.
“I see first hand daily how much families in our state are struggling with food insecurity,” said Joy Begnaud Jaeger, Board Director for Denver’s Omar D. Blair Charter School. “Every student deserves to eat and learn. Colorado’s Healthy School Meals for All program not only addresses food insecurity, it also encourages academic achievement by making sure students can show up in class ready and satisfied. By passing this bill today, our state lawmakers made our children a priority.”
According to Hunger Free Colorado, without the passage of the measures that Coloradans will vote on in November, free meals for all students could be scaled back starting in 2026. “This would mean at least 30 percent of Colorado public school students would no longer have access to free meals for all at school,” the organization said in a press release. The organization played a pivotal role in the creation of the HSMA program in 2022.
Voters resoundingly supported the proposition to create Healthy School Meals for All in 2022, according to Hunger Free Colorado. The organization has also reported that since the program began, more than $2 million has been directed to local food, resulting in a $3.4 million boost to local economies.
