In first month, North Dakota group behind free school meals collects a third of signatures needed for ballot

By: April Baumgarten, Fargo Forum

February 7, 2026

FARGO — Backers of free school meals for all North Dakota public K-12 students say they are on their way to collecting enough signatures to put the matter to a vote in the general election.

Together for School Meals has collected about 12,000 signatures in its first month of petitioning to get a constitutional measure on the Nov. 3 ballot, spokeswoman Amy Jacobson said. The group behind the measure that would guarantee one free breakfast and lunch each school day for public K-12 students has until midnight July 6 to turn in 31,164 signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office.

“I don’t want to jinx anything, but we do feel very confident we’ll have the signatures that we need,” Jacobson said. “The outpouring of support just in the last week, almost all of those volunteers came from within the last week."

The measure needs a simple majority to pass. If approved, nonpublic and tribal schools also could offer free school meals, according to the measure language.

If the state Legislature can’t determine how to fund the meals, reimbursements will come from the Legacy Fund, which collects a portion of tax revenue from oil and gas production in the state.

The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction estimates 66% of its nearly 120,000 K-12 students eat school lunch, while 31% eat breakfast. More than 31,000 students received free lunches in the 2024-25 school year, and nearly 7,500 had reduced prices, according to the agency.

The federal government reimbursed North Dakota schools $38.1 million for meals in the last school year . . .

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