A Senate Finance Committee hearing for HB25-1274 occurred yesterday, after which the committee referred the bill to the Appropriations Committee, unamended. The bill concerns the Healthy School Meals for All (HSMA) program, which is a proposition that was approved by Colorado voters in 2022 that provides free school breakfasts and lunches for all public school students. The bill aims to maintain and expand the program in Colorado.
If passed, this bill would 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. The program is currently funded by limiting income tax deductions for households earning over $300,000 annually.
According to Morgan Meneses-Sheets, a consultant for Hunger Free Colorado, Colorado public schools are currently providing more than 600,000 free meals to students every day. “Students who eat a meal at school have higher test scores and attendance rates,” she said in a press release. “They do better socially and are healthier.”
Meneses-Sheets said that the initiative has had positive economic impacts thus far. “At a time when so many families are struggling to make ends meet, this program saves families up to $1,300 per child per year,” she said.
Because of the initiative, in 2024, nearly $300,000 was directed to Colorado farmers and ranchers from distribution and sales to school districts, according to Roberto Meza, the CEO of Hearty Provisions and a first-generation farmer. “That’s real money staying in our communities,” he said. “Supporting family farms, creating jobs, and building a food system that’s more resilient and responsive to local needs.”
Without this bill, free meals for all students could be scaled back starting in 2026, according to Meneses-Sheets.
The Appropriations Committee will consider the bill's financial impact and will either amend it, pass it unamended, or postpone the bill indefinitely. If passed, the bill will move to the Senate floor for a second reading. The date for HB25-1274 to be discussed in an Appropriations Committee hearing has not been announced yet.
