A hot nutritious meal for schoolchildren provides fuel for the brain as well as the body. That’s why recent measures approved by state legislators and supported by Gov. Mark Dayton that expand the number of students receiving free lunches are a critical investment in education.

The state earmarked $3.5 million to allow students eligible for reduced-cost meals to receive free meals at school. The action came on the heels of a study by Legal Aid which showed that 15 percent of Minnesota schools denied children meals when their meal accounts were delinquent while another 53 percent offered a less nutritious alternative meal.

The connection between healthy meals and children’s ability to learn has been long documented.

Several studies link hunger and poor nutrition with cognitive ability. One such study found that among fourth-grade students, those who had the least protein intake in their diets had the lowest achievement scores. Another study, measuring students’ speed and accuracy, showed that children who skipped breakfast didn’t perform as well on tests.

In addition, children who are hungry or undernourished also have more difficulty fighting infection, meaning they are more likely to become sick, miss school and fall behind in class.

Similar research played a large role in the creation of the National School Lunch Program. Alarmed by an investigation that revealed a connection between physical deficiencies and childhood malnutrition, Congress enacted the National School Lunch Act in 1946. The investigation was spurred in part by the number of young men rejected in the World War II draft because of physical deficiencies.

While state lawmakers and Gov. Dayton deserve credit for their investment in education, we also applaud the efforts of St. Louis County School District’s Food Service staff for pursuing the Community Eligibility Option for Tower-Soudan, which took effect nationwide on July 1. The program allows schools with high numbers of low-income children to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students without collecting school meal applications or tracking eligibility in the cafeteria.

This option increases participation by children in the school meal programs, at little or no additional cost to the district.

In another positive move, school board members revised their meals policy to ensure that students are guaranteed a meal regardless of whether their meal accounts are current. The percentage of students with delinquent meal accounts is negligible and the financial impact to the district will be minimal, but the payoffs in the classroom could be considerable.

Besides, what could be worse than outright denying a hungry child a meal at school? That should never happen, and schools, fortunately, are recognizing that more and more. It’s a big step in the right direction.