Bismarck, ND – Today, a ballot measure that would guarantee free meals to students at North Dakota schools qualified for the November ballot having collected an astounding 49,338 signatures. The measure, advanced by grassroots coalition Together for School Meals, would ensure that every student in North Dakota has access to breakfast and lunch every school day, at no cost to families. According to the campaign, the measure will mean that families can focus on their children’s learning and growth instead of worrying about covering the cost of school meals.
In response to today’s news, Kelly Hall, Executive Director of the Fairness Project, the national ballot measure organization backing the effort, declared, “At a time when we are confronting such darkness and division in our politics, today, we can pause and be grateful that citizens are making use of the ballot measure process to make a positive difference in the lives of children and families. When politicians fail to act on issues as basic as children’s nutrition, the people can pick up the mantle.”
In a state where over 24,000 children face food insecurity—and where nearly half of those children do not qualify for existing school meal programs—this measure would circumvent the need for eligibility determination and ensure every child in the state has access to school meals with no out-of-pocket costs.
“It’s exciting that, through the power of the ballot measure process, North Dakota is now so close to ensuring all children have access to the nutrition they need to learn and to thrive,” continued Hall. “We’re proud to partner with this citizen-fueled campaign to address one of the most critical issues of fundamental economic justice there is,” she concluded.
Since its founding, the Fairness Project has supported state and local ballot measure campaigns working on economic issues that directly affect working people and their families, from raising the minimum wage to ensuring paid sick leave to ending income-based discrimination in housing and protecting access to abortion care. Between the 2016 and 2024 cycles, the Fairness Project backed over 10 campaigns to raise the minimum wage, many of them in states with conservative legislative majorities adverse to raising their state’s minimum wage. In 2024, the organization became the largest backer of abortion rights ballot measure campaigns, donating more than $30 million and protecting or restoring abortion rights in several states. In the 2026 cycle, the Fairness Project is now also backing campaigns to defend democracy, including efforts to maintain non-partisan state courts, defend state constitutions from rewrites by corporate interests, create fair congressional districts, and uphold the ballot measure process.
Now that the measure has qualified for the ballot, the Together for School Meals campaign will begin the next phase of its work, urging citizens across the state to vote in favor of universal school meals for all K-12 students. Voters will decide the measure on Tuesday, November 3.