Assemblyman Brian Maher and Senator Peter Oberacker are supporting the creation of a permanent healthy school meals program in New York. Maher co-sponsored the legislation (A.1941) that would establish the program to provide breakfast and lunch to all children in public school districts from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. The federal program that provided meals to students during the pandemic has expired, leaving 726,000 students without access to these meals.
Children deserve to succeed in school, no matter their circumstances, Maher said. Children should not be distracted by hunger taking their attention from their studies, personal growth and development, he continued.
Maher is a member of the Committee on Children and Families and said financial hardship has hit more families than we realize and children shouldn’t suffer for it.
In New York, one in seven kids experiences hunger. Financial pressures from inflation and other factors are impacting more working families than before. A family of four making $51,400, who already have to make dollars stretch, does not qualify for the existing school program. When the expanded federal school meals program ended, it left 726,000 students without access to school breakfast and lunch.
Maher also said rural schools often fall through the cracks, unable to provide meals to students. This is partly due to the fact that although there is poverty in rural areas as well because it is less concentrated, these schools are often ineligible for the federal Community Eligibility Provision.
If passed, the universal healthy school meals bill will remove these hurdles and barriers faced by children in getting access to meals.
