Every good story needs a villain, and in the story of Pennsylvania’s 2023-24 budget, it seems like the Republicans who’ve controlled the state Senate since 1994 have found the bad guy they want you to hate: hungry children who expect to eat food every day.

COVID-era supports for school meals and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from the federal government are going away, and, even with record low unemployment and a roaring economy, too many working people are struggling to put food on the table.

Corporate greed and price gouging, combined with a minimum wage that hasn’t budged a dime for 15 years, have teamed up to give workers an effective pay cut, which means fewer dollars in your pocket and in the local economy, while there are billions being spent on stock buybacks and shareholder dividends.

Now, you’d think these same Senate Republicans, who praise giving tax dollars to corporations as an investment, would recognize the significant return on investment from kids who are not hungry at school – higher test scores, better concentration, and generally overall healthier children. In the long run, school meals lead to better outcomes for everyone, including the taxpayers.

Is it disappointing the Biden administration decided to cut COVID-era funding to school breakfasts and SNAP? Absolutely.

If it were up to me, the federal money wouldn’t just be preserved, but would be expanded to ensure that there are no more hungry people in this, the wealthiest nation on Earth.

But, this is Pennsylvania. We don’t need the federal government to do our thinking for us.

We can recognize the absolute scientific facts about feeding children and do the right things ourselves. It’s a shame the Senate Republicans are so opposed to local control and want Washington, D.C. to make all their decisions.

So, I say we do the right thing. I’ve got a plan to add about $435 million to the state’s annual budget – about a 0.01% of our overall state budget – and make sure hungry kids get to eat. Free breakfast and free lunch at school. The law says kids have to attend school, but the law says nothing about having to feed kids at school, and I think that’s ridiculous.

Here’s the dirty little secret the Senate Republicans don’t want you to think about as they attack hungry kids and public schools. Kids with parents who are invested in the child’s education and nutrition are probably going to be ok no matter what school they go to, regardless of free breakfast and lunch. When we fight for public schools and nutrition, my colleagues and I are thinking about those kids who don’t have anyone looking out for them at home.

We’re worrying about the kids with parents or guardians who can’t – or won’t – make sure bellies are full and homework is done. For those kids, public schools are more than a place to learn, they can be a lifeline and the only ticket to a better life. Pennsylvania can’t leave them behind.

Senate Republicans, and particularly Senate GOP Appropriations Committee Chair Sen. Scott Martin, need to remember that *hunger,* not hungry kids, is the real villain here. And in Pennsylvania – a state with an economy equivalent to the nations of Saudi Arabia or the Netherlands – we can afford to do the right thing.

Senate Republicans can join us to defeat their “villains” – we can team up and feed the kids that scare the GOP so much.

Emily Kinkead, D-Allegheny, is a state representative.