Free Lunch Program for all Ohio Children

Dear Governor DeWine, 

As a daytime custodian at Crestwood Local Schools, I am a witness to the firsthand impacts that guaranteed food for our students can have. Hungry children have more trouble focusing on school, and lowering learning abilities. Therefore, I employ you to create a free lunch program for all children in our state. Already, about 45% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch through the USDA, a federally funded program. This program approximates about 650 million dollars in reimbursements, if kept in place, it would cost an additional 650 million dollars, less than 1% of Ohio's budget, to feed the other 55% of the state's student population. Ohio gains roughly 1.3 billion dollars from lottery and casinos, which already goes into funding for education, allocating more of these funds for a free lunch program could have massive benefits for our state. Parents could spend less on lunch, injecting more of their hard earned money into other areas of the economy. Furthermore, partnering with farmers in Ohio could boost the economy even more while also helping the agriculture sector. The benefits could be immense for Ohio, we would see improved academic performance, reduced food, insecurity, and some economic relief for families. 

Sincerely, 

Tait Taylor