WASHINGTON (AP) — Colorado’s new free school meals program will face a key test when voters decide two statewide ballot measures that would put the program on sounder financial footing, mostly by raising taxes on high-income individuals.

The outcome of the measures in the Nov. 4 election will determine whether the “Healthy School Meals for All” program will continue to provide free breakfast and lunch for all Colorado public school students or be scaled back significantly.

Approved by voters in 2022, the program was originally projected to cost about $115 million in its first year but ended up costing about $162 million because of higher-than-expected participation, according to a Dec. 2024 report by the Colorado Department of Education.

Proposition MM would increase free school meal

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