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Supporters tell committee universal breakfast and lunch for senior centers would reduce food insecurity and isolation
Summary
Representative Michelle Badger and Plymouth officials backed H4039 to establish free breakfast and lunch at senior centers and centers for active living; testimony cited state studies on senior food insecurity and proposed a new fund fed in part by a 1% surtax on clothing and footwear sales over $175.
A group of legislators and municipal officials urged the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs to support H4039, which would create a universal breakfast and lunch program at senior centers, centers for active living and councils on aging that have kitchen facilities.
Representative Michelle Badger described the bill as modeled on school lunch programs: she said Massachusetts faces growing food insecurity among older adults and cited a 2024 Greater Boston Food Bank statewide study that found about one in five seniors…
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