While partisan fighting over the state budget has already started at the Arizona Capitol this year, one of Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ spending priorities is gaining traction at the Republican-led Legislature.
Last month, the governor’s office said it wanted to include money in next year’s state budget to cover meal costs for students who qualify for reduced-price school lunches.
The Legislature approved $3.8 million to cover those costs this year, and Rep. Nancy Gutierrez (D-Tucson) introduced a bill to continue that funding in 2026.
“This bill is important because we know that when children don't eat, they are unable to learn,” Gutierrez, a high school teacher, said. “We know that students who qualify and who are able to eat healthy meals at school have better attendance and better behavior.”
According to the Arizona Department of Education, over 500,000 students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch last year. About 68,000 of those students qualified under the reduced-price designation, which caps lunch costs at $0.40 for students in families earning between 131% and 185% of the federal poverty line.
That equates to annual earnings of between about $41,000 to $58,000 for a family of four.
According to the governor’s proposed budget, the $3.8 million would cover daily $0.40 payment for lunches and the $0.30 payment for students on the reduced-price list, which totals around $126 annually for students covered by the program.
“Sadly, for some students, sometimes these are the only meals that they eat throughout the whole day,” Gutierrez said. “As a matter of fact, myself and other teachers have a drawer full of granola bars for kids that don't eat.”
Despite ongoing clashes between Hobbs’ office and legislative Republicans over spending proposals, the bill passed out of the Arizona House’s education and appropriations committees with bipartisan support.
Republicans attached food nutrition requirements to the bill that mirror similar efforts to align with U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative.
The bill now includes rules prohibiting schools from selling “ultraprocessed foods” made with a specified list of preservatives, food additives and food dyes, including potassium bromate and Red 40.
Jennifer Gordon, the child nutrition director for the Laveen Elementary School District, told lawmakers about 5% of the ingredients found in school meals included additives prohibited by the bill.
Hobbs declined to comment specifically on the nutrition requirements, saying she had not yet seen the bill.
“I’m happy to see that a bill with one of my priorities is moving forward,” she said.
