Sugary Drinks Sold in Connecticut Could Be Taxed to Pay for School Meals

Connecticut lawmakers are considering passing a new tax on sugary drinks like soda in order to offer and pay for universal free school meals in the Constitution State.

Supporters believe that students should have access to free school meals and that the quality of nutrition is an important part of the day for young people. In order to offer the free meals, one idea (which didn't pass last year) is to tax sugary drinks. The tax would be two cents per fluid ounce. What does that look like? Well, a two-liter bottle of soda that currently costs $1.99 would increase to $3.35. The money made from the sugary beverage tax would reimburse Connecticut schools offering the free meal program.

The Proposal Has Gained Major Support from Connecticut Residents

It's one of those proposals that will certainly have a lot of supporters, along with folks who are against the idea. Then again, maybe not. For one, the American Heart Association supports the proposed tax, but more than that, the association commissioned a poll of Connecticut residents on the idea and found that 79 percent of respondents support it.

READ MORE: Massachusetts Residents Who Return Their Cans and Bottles in Connecticut are in for a Rude Awakening

As alluded to earlier, there was a proposal on taxing sugary drinks to pay for school meals in Connecticut last year, but it never saw the light of day. Now the proposal is back on the table. It's worth noting that Massachusetts, New York, Maine, and Vermont already offer free school meals to students throughout each state. Is it time for Connecticut to get on board, or should things stay the way they are?