State Sen. Steve Drazkowski (R) made the remarks before the Minnesota Senate passed a bill to provide free school meals to all students
“I have yet to meet a person in Minnesota that says they don’t have access to enough food to eat,” Drazkowski repeated.
, a record high and an increase of 1.9 million visits from the previous year, according to the nonprofit Hunger Solutions Minnesota.“If he’s never met anyone who’s hungry, he’s not looking,” Colleen Moriarty, the nonprofit’s executive director, told The Washington Post. “His eyes may not be open.”The senator’s remarks came during a third reading for a bill by Sen. Heather Gustafson that would use state funds to provide free school meals to all Minnesota students.
“I’m a mom,” Gustafson said in the floor session. “I have four kids. There were a lot of years that we couldn’t afford much. I would have appreciated a policy like that.”Critics acknowledged a food insecurity issue in the state but questioned the cost of the bill — around $200 million per year — and argued that schools had higher-priority needs, such as funding for special education, mental health support and maintenance.
“Hunger is a relative term,” Drazkowski said at one point. “I had a cereal bar for breakfast, I guess I’m hungry now.”
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