2025 Ballot Guide

Healthy School Meals for All

Prop LL & MM

Prop LL: Proposition LL allows the state to retain all revenue collected via Proposition FF, which passed in 2022. Revenue will be used to fund the Healthy School Meals for All (HSMA) program.

The Food Security Network recommends supporting this ballot initiative. Voters have already approved the creation of HSMA and its funding source. Proposition LL simply allows the state to use already collected funds to support a program that will help reduce child hunger and improve economic well-being. 

• Voters already approved the creation of HSMA and the tax changes needed to fund it. Proposition LL simply lets the state retain funding for a program Coloradans have already prioritized.

• Research shows there are significant benefits to ensuring that children have enough to eat at school. 

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Prop MM: Proposition MM reduces tax deductions for households making more than $300,000 in annual income and uses revenue from the increased taxes to fund the Healthy School Meals for All (HSMA) program. Any money left after fully funding HSMA can be used to fund the infrastructure needed to implement Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirements created as a result of the federal legislation passed earlier this year.

The Food Security Network recommends a supporting this ballot initiative. Increasing HSMA revenue will keep the program available for all students, instead of just low-income students and schools. Universal availability of free school meals reduces stigma for students who take advantage of the program. Also, the increased revenue will ensure that schools are able to purchase healthy, locally-grown ingredients and raise wages for school meal employees.

• This measure ensures that the money for administering the new stringent work requirements for SNAP can come from higher taxes on the wealthy, as opposed to eating into constrained General Fund revenue.

• After HSMA is fully funded for all Colorado students, as well as funding for local food purchasing grants, then money left over can be used for SNAP funding and outreach.