“Congress must follow suit and make this a reality for every child who calls America home,” said U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley.

The Massachusetts Legislature on Monday approved a budget proposal that requires the state’s public schools to provide all K-12 students with free meals, making permanent a highly successful pandemic-era program.

Maura Healey, the state’s Democratic governor, is expected to sign the budget into law, which would make Massachusetts the eighth U.S. state to make universal free school meals permanent—joining California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Vermont, and Michigan.

“We would not be where we are today without the voices and activism of thousands of advocates and organizations, who made it clear that feeding our kids must be a statewide priority,” Erin McAleer, president and CEO of the Massachusetts anti-hunger group Project Bread, said in a