Education Groups, Farm Advocates, Unions, and Anti-Hunger Organizations
United in Support of Healthy School Meals for All New York Kids
Albany, New York—The Healthy School Meals for All New York Kids coalition released a sign-on letter sent to Governor Kathy Hochul yesterday calling on her to include a fully funded universal school meals program in her FY2026 Executive Budget. While New York has expanded free school meals in recent years, an estimated 320,000 students in more than 650 schools remained without universal meal programs as of last school year.
“Governor Hochul has the chance to make New York more affordable in her upcoming Executive Budget,” said Andrés Vives, CEO of Hunger Solutions New York. “Healthy School Meals for All must be part of any effort to address the state’s affordability crisis. Free school meals save families an estimated $165 per child per month—that is tangible financial relief. Budgets are both a reflection of our values and an investment in our future. It is time to close the gap and ensure free school breakfast and lunch is available to every student in New York.”
“The Governor has been rightly focused on cost-of-living issues for New Yorkers,” said Liz Accles, Executive Director of Community Food Advocates. “More than two-thirds of the 320,000 students that remain without access to free school meals live on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley, regions with high costs of living and stark income inequality. In New York, a family of four making just $58,000 per year is ineligible for free breakfast and lunch if their school was not part of the state’s initial expansion.”
In New York schools that have implemented universal school meals, more kids are getting the meals they need. Student participation increased by 12 percent in the first six months following the program expansion. An additional 10 million breakfasts and 18 million lunches reached students across New York.
Last month, USDA released findings showing increased food insecurity in New York, with more than 12 percent of households struggling to provide enough food for their families—a full percentage point higher than the previous year. A national survey showed that when families need to pay for school meals, it becomes harder for them to cover other household expenses.
“Feeding New York State is proud to support free school meals for all New York children,” said Dan Egan, Executive Director of Feeding New York State. “Our state has a responsibility to ensure every child, regardless of their zip code, has the guarantee of fresh, nutritious, and locally grown food in their school. We urge New York State to join the movement of states around the country in guaranteeing Healthy School Meals for All.”
Eight states, including California, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Minnesota, have established universal free school meal programs.
“Universal free school meals is a powerful tool to reduce childhood hunger and support students’ nutritional and educational needs regardless of the wealth of their school district or household means,” said Kelly Dodd, Chief Operating Officer of 211 NYS Inc. and United Way of New York State’s Vice President. “Expansion of this program is needed to support all children and ALICE families in New York. United Way of New York State (UWNYS)/211 NY supports a fully-funded free school meal program for all in the FY 2026 Executive Budget.”
School meals are a vital source of nutrition for students, providing nearly half of children’s daily calories. Across all income levels, school meals are among the healthiest meals kids eat.
Research has shown that schools with universal free meal programs have experienced improvements in math and reading test scores, with the greatest improvements among students who were previously ineligible for free school meals.
“NYSSBA lauds the investments the state has made in the past two years to greatly expand free school meals. However, until the program is truly universal, kids in New York State will continue to go hungry. Universal school meals provide all students equitable access to basic nutrition and the opportunity to reach their full learning potential,” said Robert Schneider, Executive Director of the New York State School Boards Association. “Fully funding the program would also provide financial relief to families that may be burdened by inflationary costs associated with the procurement of nutritious meals.”
The benefits extend beyond the classroom. Universal school meals allow school administrators the purchasing power to procure higher-quality, local foods and provide students with more creative menus. It also builds capacity for Farm to School, freeing up staff time so schools can build relationships with farmers and prepare local ingredients.
“Farmers play a key role in providing healthy, locally sourced meals for children in schools across the state. We hope that funding can be provided for free school meals in the coming budget to meet the nutritional needs of students and provide opportunities for farmers to participate,” said Jeff Williams, Director of Public Policy at the New York Farm Bureau.
The Healthy School Meals for All NY Kids Coalition is a group of nearly 300 nonprofits, parent and teacher groups, labor unions, and anti-hunger organizations led by Hunger Solutions New York and Community Food Advocates, with funding from the New York Health Foundation.
Community Food Advocates (CFA) is a nonprofit that works to dismantle barriers to food access. CFA builds creative and strategic coalitions that advocate for high-impact public policy to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to healthy, affordable, plentiful, and culturally appropriate foods within an equity-centered food system.
Hunger Solutions New York is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to alleviating hunger. Hunger Solutions New York provides outreach and technical assistance to maximize school meals and other federal nutrition assistance programs across the state. The organization also advocates for state and federal policies to strengthen and expand the reach of federal nutrition programs in New York.
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