Passing Prop MM would go a long way toward making sure Colorado students have access to meals at school.

At its simplest, passing Colorado Proposition MM would generate up to $95 million for the state Healthy School Meals for All program and to shore up the state’s share of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It would do so by decreasing allowable income tax deductions for Colorado taxpayers who make $300,000 in adjusted gross income or more.

Prop MM is a statutory measure, and it would pass with a simple majority vote. The Colorado General Assembly originally put Prop MM on the ballot by passing House Bill 25-1274, but amended it during the August special session to include SNAP funding by passing Senate Bill 25B-003.

Why Was Prop MM Proposed?

As mentioned in this voter guide’s section on Proposition LL, School Meals program funding has not recently been able to meet demand. The program took in about $100 million last year but had a $56 million shortfall, per Colorado Public Radio and other sources. The state has to date made up for School Meals Program funding shortfalls using State Education Fund (SEF) money, but SEF money for this purpose is only approved through FY 2025-26 at this time.

The state legislature put both Props LL and MM on the ballot by passing House Bill 25-1274. Prop LL is basically a TABOR override, and if it passes it would allow the state to keep about $12 million in “excess” revenue it has already collected, without needing to refund it to taxpayers under TABOR. Prop MM would generate substantially more revenue than Prop LL if it passes.

Here is the most current basic breakdown of how Prop MM would impact income tax deductions and average tax bills for those earning above $300,000, from the state Blue Book:

What Happens if Prop MM Fails?

The future of a few types of programs are contingent on Prop MM passing.

First and perhaps most importantly, fewer schools would be eligible for the state’s School Meals program if Prop MM fails. In 2025, the state passed Senate Bill 25-214 as a contingency plan in case Prop MM would not pass. In short, the bill’s fiscal note said it would “restrict School Meals Program participation to ‘eligible sites,’ defined as ‘those that currently participate in the (USDA) Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) or are identified by the Colorado Department of Education based on free meal eligibility.”

The original School Meals program, adopted by voters in 2022, included several other components beyond simply funding meals, but they haven’t been implemented due to funding shortfalls, per the state Blue Book:

  • Purchase products grown, raised, and processed in Colorado to include in school meals (in essence, revenue for local farmers) and establish student-parent school meal advisory committees;
  • increase wages or provide stipends for employees who prepare and serve school meals; and
  • offer training, equipment, and technical assistance to help prepare healthy school meals using basic, nutritious ingredients, and to support collaboration between schools, communities, and local food growers.

Passing Prop MM would provide funding for the three points above. If Prop MM fails but Prop LL passes, the state would be required to spend at least $1 million for local food purchasing and technical assistance for school meal providers. If both Props LL and MM fail, there would be no money for grants to school meal providers unless other state funding becomes available.

Also, if Prop MM fails there would be no funding available through this source for SNAP.

Why Add SNAP?

Since the new Presidential administration took control in January, there have been a number of cuts to federal budgets and programs, and some of these cuts also impact the State of Colorado government. In August, Governor Jared Polis called the legislature into a special session to deal with impacts to the state due to the big federal bill H.R. 1, which in part shifted some SNAP costs from the federal government to the state and counties.

Estimates differ, but a number of sources say around 600,000 Coloradans were enrolled in SNAP in mid-2025. Estimates from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in June 2025 said about 28,000 Colorado adults aged 55-64 with no kids and about 27,000 adults with kids 14 and older were in danger of losing some amount of SNAP.

As noted above, the state passed SB 25B-003 during this special session, and it would allow the state to partially fund SNAP expenses for:

  • Implementing SNAP;
  • Providing outreach related to SNAP; and
  • Providing community-based nutrition education

According to the fiscal note for SB 25B-003, this bill could re-allocate funding compared to the way Prop MM was before the special session bill passed, as follows:

  • Conditional on the reserve percentage in the School Meals Program fund reaching at least 35 percent, after fully funding meal reimbursements and grants for local food purchasing and technical assistance and wages or stipends for food service workers, the bill will increase spending for SNAP and may reduce funding to school districts for the Healthy School Meals for All Program by up to $27.2 million in FY 2026-27 and by up to $69.7 million in FY 2027-28.
  • This reduction will occur through a reduction in funding provided through grants for local food purchasing and technical assistance and distributions for wages or stipends for food service workers.

Here’s a link to the special session bill, and readers might consider that the “fiscal note” is much easier to read than the actual bill: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb25b-003

For more information on SNAP in Colorado, visit https://cdhs.colorado.gov/snap

What Does the School Meals Program Do?

As the name suggests, the School Meals program is geared toward funding and providing free school meals for students in participating schools. According to the Colorado Department of Education, its broad purpose is to “ensure all students have access to a healthy meal during the school day, to promote equity and reduce the stigma associated with participating in school meal programs and to support the nourishment students need to achieve academic success.”

All Colorado public schools (including charters) and qualifying childcare institutions can “opt-in” to the School Meals Program – that is, it’s not mandatory. Boulder Valley School District and St. Vrain School District both currently participate in the program.

Before voters approved the current School Meals Program in 2022, there were already school meals programs in Colorado schools, including federal programs like the National School Lunch Program, but the School Meals Program provided funding that helped significantly boost participation numbers.

According to the Colorado Department of Education, the School Meals program increased the number of students eating school lunches on a daily basis by about 30% in the program’s first year – from 54,364,553 to 70,834,396. School breakfasts increased by about 37%, from 21,955,643 to 29,978,677.

For a large amount of information about the School Meals program, visit https://ed.cde.state.co.us/nutrition/nutrition-programs/healthy-school-meals-for-all-program

School Meals History Primer

The School Meals Program was established after Colorado voters passed Proposition FF in 2022 by about 57% – 43%. Prop FF provided revenue by limiting state income tax deductions for people earning more than $300,000 in federal adjusted gross income. Prop FF also required state and school meal providers to participate in certain federal programs to bring in additional federal funds. The state legislature put Prop FF on the ballot by passing HB 22-1414.

But it’s not unusual for the state to propose legislation to adjust programs after they’re established. The state also passed House Bill 24-1390 in 2024 to consider program adjustments after the early phases of School Meals implementation. The bill authorized a technical advisory group to examine items like: maximizing federal funding; cost management; equity; long-term resiliency; and revenue options.

In case Proposition MM does not pass, the state legislature passed Senate Bill 25-214 this year as a contingency plan to manage School Meals expenses if revenue is insufficient.  As noted earlier, this bill would restrict School Meals Program participation to “eligible sites.”

Prop MM Pro:

  • Food insecurity is a very big problem in Colorado and America right now, and Prop MM would help a significant number of students and their families by providing meals.
  • Hunger can negatively impact student academic performance.
  • Passing Prop MM could help local farmers by providing funding for the locally sourced food program.
  • Prop MM would provide much more revenue for the School Meals program than just Prop LL alone, and the program has recently faced funding shortfalls.

Prop MM Con:

  • This is a sizeable or at least noticeable tax increase for Coloradans earning above $300,000.
  • Some people would prefer managing School Meals Program shortfalls by cutting expenses, such as limiting eligibility, as opposed to increasing taxes.
  • Some people believe the state shouldn’t have any business in providing school meals at all.

Campaign Proponents:

  • Keep Kids Fed Colorado: As of the Oct. 31 Secretary of State’s disclosure report, this committee had raised $739,235 in campaign contributions.
  • Proponent Website: https://www.yesonllandmm.com/

Richard’s Take

I’ll vote YES on Prop MM, but must admit that I won’t be the one supplying the new revenue if MM passes.

Morally, I fully believe a good society ought to do what it can to prevent hunger or under-nutrition. However, changing the calendar from 2024 to 2025 was almost like entering a new era when it came to all sorts of levels of public sector economics. I will easily say we can’t count on adequate funding for food assistance for the poor from the federal government to the extent we did not so long ago – but on the other hand, other beneficial programs and services are likely to suffer from reduced funding as well.

So, an obvious question in our new economic paradigm could be how much can Colorado expect “the rich” to pay for things that just one or two years ago could have been comfortably absorbed by the regular state budget processes? I’d be sort of surprised if MM doesn’t pass given that it will affect “only” about 200,000 taxpayers while far more than 2 million people will probably vote (and I reasonably expect that not all taxpayers above $300,000 will vote “no”), but how many more times can the state draw revenue from that well?

Some people would undoubtedly answer my rhetorical question by saying “quite a few more times.” Some of the most glaring basic impacts of our new or soon-to-come economic structure are quite clearly that a) the wealthy will benefit; b) to some yet-unknown extent government revenues that might help smooth out wealth inequality will be reduced or repurposed; and c) poorer people will be worse off. Don’t blame me for saying this – here’s a chart from the Congressional Budget Office, and of course readers can believe or disbelieve.

I might actually have a little sympathy for what Prop MM is asking of Colorado’s higher-income earners in 2025, but the above chart suggests real problems will be facing people who already have real problems. And in the case of school meals, the consequences to some students of failure to fund this program might include hunger, reduced academic performance, or other health and developmental impacts.

The great old song “I’d Love to Change the World” by Ten Years After had the lines: “Tax the rich, feed the poor, ‘Til there are no rich no more…” It’s not exactly what I want, though I’m definitely voting for Prop MM, but my endorsement will end with an honest reminder to all that decisions about funding all kinds of other programs and benefits and projects are likely to only get tougher, and more subject to detailed scrutiny, moving forward.