Lawmakers, School Administrators, and Advocates to Call on Governor Hochul to Fully Fund Free School Meals for All NY Students

LongIsland.com

More than 243,000 students on Long Island would benefit from HSMFA

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Last week, Minnesota became the eighth state to fund free school meals for all students. Now, with funding for universal free school meals included in both the Senate and Assembly one-house budget bills, legislators will join advocates, parents, and school leaders for a press event at Jefferson Primary School on Long Island on Friday, March 24th at 10:00 a.m. calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to fully fund Healthy School Meals for All in this year’s State budget. 

In June, federal waivers that provided free school meals for all students expired. As a result, more than 726,000 students in New York lost access to free meals at school and families’ school meal debt has skyrocketed. This loss hit Long Island especially hard, with nearly 243,000 students in Nassau and Suffolk Counties losing access to free school meals this year. 

Both the Senate and Assembly included $280 million to restore free school meals for all students in their one-house budget bills. Now it is up to Governor Hochul to ensure HSMFA is fully funded in the FY2024 State budget.  

About Health & Welfare Council of Long Island, Nassau Suffolk School Board Association, and  the Healthy School Meals for All Coalition 

The Health & Welfare Council of Long Island is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization. HWCLI serves the interests of poor and vulnerable people on Long Island by convening, representing, and supporting the organizations that serve them and by promoting the development of public policies and programs.

The Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) membership organization comprised of Boards of Education from school districts located in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. N-SSBA exchanges information on best practices for highly effective governance of school districts and works closely with other associations of the Long Island educational community to help advocate for the region’s schools.

The Healthy School Meals for All NY Kids Coalition is a group of 250+ organizations led by Hunger Solutions New York and Community Food Advocates with funding from the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth).