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HARRISBURG, PA (Jan. 15, 2026) — Food insecurity remains a significant barrier to student success in Pennsylvania, PSEA Vice President Jeff Ney testified Wednesday during a Pennsylvania House Majority Policy Committee hearing, where he called on lawmakers to support legislation that would establish a state fund to ensure all students have access to school lunch.
“During my years teaching and coaching in the Wilkes-Barre Area School District, I saw firsthand how profoundly hunger affects learning,” Ney said. “I also saw the opposite — how transformative it is when students are fed, focused, and ready to learn. That’s why school meals matter.
“Food insecurity remains a significant barrier to student success in Pennsylvania. Universal school meals are one of the most direct and effective ways to address it. For many students, school is the most reliable — and sometimes the only — place they get a healthy meal.”
Ney said that when students come to class hungry, they have difficulty concentrating and quickly become irritable or withdrawn. Hungry students sometimes demonstrate behavioral issues that are treated as disciplinary problems rather than what they really are — unmet basic needs.
“School meals provide consistency for families living just above federal income thresholds — families who are working, doing everything right, but still struggling as food costs rise faster than wages,” Ney said. “School meals are not a side program. They are foundational to student success.”
A state-funded school lunch program is needed now more than ever after Congress voted last summer to enact the largest ever cut to federal SNAP nutrition benefits, Ney said. For the first time, states must cover a share of benefit costs and pay for more of the administrative expenses.
These changes create a dangerous domino effect in Pennsylvania. As families lose SNAP or Medicaid, fewer children automatically qualify for free school meals.
“PSEA applauds Gov. Shapiro for expanding universal free breakfast and for his continued leadership on food security,” Ney said. “Since the expansion of universal breakfast, schools have seen higher participation, smoother starts to the school day, fewer nurse visits due to hunger, and students who are more ready to learn.
“But lunch remains governed by outdated federal thresholds that don’t reflect today’s economic reality. As a result, thousands of students still go without reliable access to a nutritious midday meal.
“That’s why we commend Reps. Emily Kinkead, Nate Davidson, and Tarik Kahn for sponsoring House Bill 180. This legislation would establish a state fund to ensure all students have access to school lunch — including those who fall just outside federal eligibility.
“Together, HB 180 and Gov. Shapiro’s leadership represent a practical, Pennsylvania-driven solution — one that protects students, supports families, and allows educators to focus on what they do best: teaching.”
Read Ney’s full testimony at PSEA’s website.
Ney is a Wilkes Barre Area elementary teacher and vice president of PSEA. An affiliate of the National Education Association, PSEA represents about 177,000 active and retired educators and school employees, aspiring educators, higher education staff, and health care workers in Pennsylvania.
