Gov. Kathy Hochul to propose expansion of free school meal programs

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday plans to propose expanding free school meal programs to cover the cost of breakfast and lunch for all of the state’s 2.7 million students.

The Democratic governor is expected to announce the proposal, known as Universal Free School Meals, at Westbury Middle School, according to a news release provided exclusively to Newsday by Hochul’s office.

Current federal and state funding for school meals is only provided to school buildings and districts with students who meet certain poverty requirements. The new state program would expand eligibility to nearly 300,000 additional students who don't currently qualify under the federal program, according to the release.

On Long Island, a universal meals program would help an estimated 260 schools and 135,000 students, according to Hunger Solutions New York, a statewide nonprofit focused on alleviating hunger.

"The research is clear: good food in the lunchroom creates good grades in the classroom," Hochul said in the release. "I'm proposing free school meals for every student in New York — giving kids the sustenance they need and putting more money back in parents' pockets."

Free school meals are estimated to save families $165 per child in grocery spending each month, and have been shown to support learning, boost test scores and improve attendance and classroom behavior, according to the governor’s office.

The Friday proposal is one of several released by the governor in the last few weeks ahead of her State of the State address, set for Tuesday. Many of Hochul’s proposals are aimed at affordability, an issue that was key in the congressional and presidential elections last November.

The Universal Free School Meals program is estimated to cost $340 million and would take effect for the 2025-26 school year, according to the governor's office.

Additional details are expected to be released either in Hochul's State of the State address next week or when her budget proposal is issued on Jan. 21.

Health, education and food insecurity advocates applauded the proposal in a news release provided to Newsday.

"Every day in our schools, educators see hungry children who would likely qualify for existing free meal programs, but fall through the cracks due to stigma or bureaucracy," said Melinda Person, president of New York State United Teachers, the state’s largest teachers union, representing nearly 700,000 members. "Nearly one in six New York children faces food insecurity, and this critical initiative to provide universal free meals for all students — regardless of their ZIP code or family income — will reduce food anxiety, improve mental and physical health, and support students’ ability to thrive."

Federal law allows school districts to apply for funding to provide free lunch either districtwide or for all students in an individual school building if 25% or more of their student population lives in poverty. Students, for example, whose families receive Medicaid or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, would qualify under the federal program.

The higher the percentage of students in poverty, the greater the reimbursement the district receives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

New York State provides funding to support schools that are not fully reimbursed by the federal government to help close the gap of providing free lunch to all districts. The state budget passed last year provided $180 million to subsidize the federal community eligibility program, according to the state Education Department.

Currently, 2.46 million students in schools that participate in the federal program receive free breakfast and lunch, said J.P. O’Hare, an Education Department spokesman.

But nearly 600 school districts statewide, with more than 284,000 students, don’t qualify for free meals, said Jessica Pino-Goodspeed, deputy director of Public Affairs for Hunger Solutions New York.

And during the COVID-19 pandemic, the increased need for free meal programs became "so much more glaring," said Caroline Bobick, deputy director of governmental and external relations for the New York State School Boards Association. During the pandemic the federal government paid for school meals for all students, but that ended in 2022, she said.

Hochul’s initiative would cover the cost of free lunch and breakfast for students in schools not covered by the federal program, according to the governor’s office.

Free meal programs eliminate shame not only at school, but also at home, where parents may worry about students receiving school meals they can’t pay for later, Bobick said. And students tend to eat healthier when they’re eating school lunch, as opposed to sugary snacks or processed packed lunches that are high in sodium, she said.