New York Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled her latest initiative to reduce the cost of living in the state: free meals in schools for every student, regardless of income.
The Democrat announced the plan at Westbury Middle School on Friday alongside educators, nutrition advocates and lawmakers. It would expand an existing free meal program that uses poverty requirements to determine eligibility and would apply to all of the state's nearly three million students.
“Life is hard enough for our kids these days, so I don't want them to have the stigma when they get a reduced-price lunch or a free meal," Hochul said. "They shouldn't have to choose from going hungry or being embarrassed among their peers and friends.”
Currently, 90% of students already have access to free school meals. According to the governor's office, the additional funding would expand that to 300,000 more students, bringing the total number to 2.7 million at a cost of about $340 million for the 2025-26 school year.
If the governor's budget proposal is approved, the majority of students who would start getting free meals would be those at schools in Long Island, western New York, and the Hudson Valley. According to the governor's office, the meal program would save families up to $165 each month for each child.
Hochul said the free school meal expansion will be part of her State of the State address on Tuesday. It's the latest part of her "affordability agenda," which she has rolled out along with her executive budget priorities in the days leading up to her annual speech.
Melinda Person, president of the New York State United Teachers union, said she supports the move, citing the benefits to learning outcomes from free school meals.
"Students are more engaged, attendance improves, test scores improve, and classroom behavior improves as well," Person said. "But it's more than that. It's also about dignity."
Eight states currently offer free lunch and breakfast to all public school students: California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico and Vermont.
