8 US states offer free lunch for students. Here's how they pay for it, from a 4% millionaire's tax to a $0.03 property tax rate increase.

Mon, 08/14/2023 - 14:35

Kimberly Ortiz, 13, goes through the cafe at John Liechty Middle School in Los Angeles on Wednesday, December 7, 2022. — California was the first state to pass free lunch legislation after the COVID-19 meal plan was not renewed for the 2022-2023 school year.
Christina House / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Massachusetts is the latest state to expand free school lunch since a COVID-era program ended.
The state funds it through a 4% millionaire's tax, while other states increase property taxes.
Here's how eight states pay for free lunch for public school students.

Last week, Massachusetts became the eighth state to offer free lunch for all public school students, joining a small but growing roster of states that have expanded their free school lunch programs since the expiration of Congress' COVID-19 federal free lunch funding.