Proposed NC bill seeks to provide free breakfast in public schools

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) – — A proposed bill could make breakfast free for all public school students in North Carolina—from Pre-K through 12th grade.

On Friday, students, educators, and advocates gathered in Wilmington for a town hall to discuss the proposed legislation and how it could impact local families.

The event was hosted by School Meals for All NC, a campaign advocating for free breakfast and lunch for every student in North Carolina public schools.

For Owen Alford, a student ambassador with the group, the issue is deeply personal.

“And even the fact that there were some students that I knew in my classes who—those were like the only meals they were eating…” said Alford, who has been involved with the campaign for two years.

He said he sees the difference when classmates come to school hungry.

“It just really is a struggle for them to be at their best and on the top of their game when they are hungry,” he said.

The Wilmington town hall included panelists from New Hanover and Pender County Schools.

The conversation comes as House Bill 774, titled “School Breakfast for All,” continues to move through the North Carolina General Assembly.

The bill—sponsored by Reps. Deb Butler (D) and Charlie Miller (R) of New Hanover County—would provide funding for universal breakfast in all public schools. It also includes a “Farm-to-Table” initiative, encouraging schools to work with local farmers and use fresh, seasonal ingredients in meals.

Charles Clark, Executive Director of the Community Health Coalition, helped organize the event and said the impact of this bill reaches beyond just students.

“Sending my son to school to get his education and to have to pay for his meal as well—if I don’t have, I mean, the difficulty of that. You are having families have to choose what’s important…” Clark said.

He emphasized the broader goal of making sure students are nourished and ready to learn.

“Hungry kids don’t earn because they don’t learn—and so that’s something I like to say now, like, hungry kids don’t learn if they don’t earn. So when we get older, that’s what we want to combat.”

House Bill 774 is currently under review in the House Education – K-12 Committee.