Just a week before the start of the new school year, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand attended a meal distribution event at the New York City Public Environmental Research High School on August 27th. She urged Congress to pass the Universal School Meals Program Act, which aims to provide free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks to all students regardless of their family income. The bill also aims to expand access to free summer meals and eliminate school meal debt that students cannot afford.
In a statement, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand expressed concerns about the millions of children going hungry every day in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, calling it unacceptable. She emphasized that the Universal School Meals Program Act would provide funding for free meals for students in need and streamline administrative processes for school staff.
The event was also attended by New York State Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas, Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, and Chris Tricarico, Senior Executive Director of Food and Nutrition Services at the New York City Department of Education. Assembly Member González-Rojas highlighted that one in six children in New York faces hunger.
The Universal School Meals Program Act includes four key implementation points:
1. Permanently provide free breakfast, lunch, and dinner to all students, regardless of their family income, and eliminate cumbersome application paperwork.
2. Increase the reimbursement rate for schools participating in food and nutrition programs to more accurately reflect the true cost of providing meals.
3. Prohibit schools from discriminating against or publicly identifying children participating in free meal programs.
4. Expand summer food service programs and summer EBT programs to cover all children. Currently, only communities where more than half of the children qualify for free or reduced-price lunch can operate summer meal programs. The Universal School Meals Program Act ensures that children in all communities are eligible for free lunch regardless of community income.
Senator Gillibrand’s office pointed out that free school meals can lead to various positive outcomes, including improved attendance and school performance, reduced behavioral incidents, decreased suspension rates, improved health outcomes, and alleviation of economic pressures on students and families.