09/04/2022
This school year, New York families face a steep hunger cliff as nationwide waivers allowing free school meals for all students expire, jeopardizing access to school meals for an estimated 726,000 students in nearly 2,000 schools across the state.
๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐๐๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ต๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐น ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ป๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐. A diverse coalition of anti-hunger, education, health, agriculture, and equity-focused advocates are urging New York to establish and fund a statewide Healthy School Meals for All program to provide breakfast and lunch at no cost to every student each school day, regardless of income. Providing meals at no cost to all students is a proven strategy to reduce food insecurity, improve mental and physical health, alleviate stigma and administrative barriers to meal access, support local food purchasing, and advance educational, economic, and racial equity.
๐๐ฑ๐ฑ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐
To illustrate the broad support for this critical policy, Hunger Solutions New York is preparing a list of organizations in support of Healthy School Meals for All to share publicly and with key policymakers.
๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐, ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ต, ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฎ, to add your organization as a Healthy School Meals for All supporter. While we will continue to grow this coalition throughout the fall, you must sign on by next week to be included in the list of supporters we are sharing in key policy meetings next month. If your organization cannot be listed publicly, or if you do not represent an organization, you can still complete the form to sign up for email updates and to be kept informed of future advocacy opportunities.
Thank you for supporting childrenโs access to vital school meal programs. Together, we can ensure all New York kids have the nutrition they need to learn and thrive.