As he looks back over his time as Minnesota’s governor, searching for something he can call an achievement, Tim Walz likes to tout the state’s “free” school meals program. Passed into law by the “historic” DFL trifecta in 2023, it provides one “free” breakfast and one “free” lunch each school day to all participating students, regardless of family income.
In the context of government programs, “free” actually means that taxpayers are paying, and that cost keeps rising. Just six months after the program was launched, it was 20% over budget and, yesterday, KSTP reported that the cost continues to spiral.
“Minnesota has now served 450 million free school meals as the program’s cost continues to rise beyond early projections,” KSTP reports. “According to the governor’s office, the program was originally projected to cost the state about $400 million in its first two years. The program cost $276 million in 2024, $294 million in 2025 and $306 million in 2026.”
So, instead of the forecast $600 million in three years, “free” school meals have actually cost $876 million, 46% above forecast, with the cost rising by 10% in just two years.
With budgeting and spending like this, it is little wonder that the state is facing a budget deficit. Once again, we see just how badly bungled the “historic” 2023 session was.
Gov. Walz views this massive overspend as a good thing. “Walz said the higher cost reflects stronger use than expected. He also said he sees that as a sign the program is helping students,” KSTP reports. “’My guess is early on we saw the cost was more than projected. I saw some people complaining about that, and I thought it was a wonderful problem to have because it showed how important the program was and we knew it was an investment,’ Walz said.”
This attitude, of course, is how you end up with Feeding Our Future. We see again one of the consistent problems the state has faced under Gov. Walz’ administration; namely his insistence on judging whether programs are successful based on how much money they spend, not on whether they produce any results. The state’s budget – and Minnesotan’s taxes – cannot afford this “Monty Brewster” approach to fiscal policy indefinitely.