SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The State Legislature passed a $388 million supplemental budget for Fiscal Year 2023.

The bill funds a variety of essential services, including services and funding for Early Education programs, and services needed for vulnerable populations, and extends to Covid-19 measures.
The bill also funds services that address food insecurity, and housing instability, as well as support services for incoming immigrants and refugees.

There’s also $130 million for SNAP benefits, $68 million for the Early Education grant programs, and $65 million for free school meals. In Massachusetts, one in five households with children is food insecure, and the pandemic shined a light on how important free school breakfast and lunch are.

During the pandemic, breakfast and lunch at school were made free through the federal government. But In June 2022, that program ended. Massachusetts was one of five states that continued to program after it ended in Washington.

The supplemental budget now goes to Governor Maura Healey’s desk for her signature.