Free school lunch: Will NY make meals universal for students? Advocates say it's needed
Eased state and federal guidelines have made it easier for school districts with many low-income students to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students. And districts from Brockport and Kingston to North Rockland and White Plains have already opted in.But advocates and many legislators want free school meals to be automatic.
They are pushing for the New York State Fiscal Year 2025 budget to offer Healthy School Meals For All, which includes universal free breakfast and lunch.
Free school lunch is popular
According to a November poll by Siena College Research Institute, 77% of respondents supported using state funding to ensure free breakfast and lunch at school.
More meals: Thousands more NY children will get free school lunch this year
National support for free breakfast and lunch is strong, too. According to an August YouGov poll, 60% of U.S. adults support free school lunch for all students; 57% back free breakfast for all.
Recent changes boost access
A federal program, the Community Eligibility Provision, was expanded, making it easier for school districts to tap into free meals for low-income students.
Plus, the current state budget included an extra $134 million to help close a federal funding gap, a compromise after universal meals were cut from the plan.
The expanded funding means more than 500 of some 800 school districts in the state can offer free breakfast and lunch. Those districts cover about 80% of kids in New York schools.
Will free meals make it into budget?
Advocates say another $60 million, on top of this year's extra funding commitment, would fuel the Healthy School Meals for All fund for the 2025 fiscal year.
Gov. Kathy Hochul will announce her budget plan in early January. A state budget is due by April 1, though it is frequently late.
Research shows universal free meals in schools reduces food insecurity, improves students' mental and physical health and boosts learning, according to Health School Meals For All.
'It creates more equity'
Stony Point Elementary School Principal Rebecca Mizrahi said universal access to lunch has been a success on her K-3 campus. "It creates more equity," said Mizrahi, whose North Rockland school district opted in this fall. "We all have the same thing."
A recent lunchtime visit to Stony Point Elementary found most kids eagerly grabbing a lunch tray (cheeseburgers and tots were on the menu) with some still opting to bring lunch from home.
Layla Vargas, 6, happily munched on her burger, without cheese, with frequent dips into a dollop of ketchup from the packets she squeezed carefully.
The first-grader said the burger-and-tots menu was her favorite. "And the ketchup."
Nancy Cutler writes about People & Policy for lohud.com and the USA Today Network New York. Reach her at ncutler@lohud.com; follow her at @nancyrockland on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Threads.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Free NY school breakfast and lunch for all, say state advocate groups
