NATIONWIDE— KEEPING STUDENTS NOURISHED is the goal of U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who on Tuesday, Aug. 27, will stand at M400 High School for Environmental Studies in Manhattan to advocate for the passage of the Universal School Meals Program Act. If enacted, this bill would provide free breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack to all schoolchildren regardless of income. The bill, which has remained in the House’s Committee for Agriculture since June 2023, would also expand access to free meals over the summer and eliminate school meal debt. In addition to Gillibrand, the bill has several co-sponsors in the House, including Brooklyn Congressmembers Nydia Velazquez and Dan Goldman, as well as others in the New York delegation, all Democrats, according to the legislation page on the Congress website. Gillibrand will emphasize the importance of free school meals, including attendance rate and academic performance, especially for children in households with food insecurity. She will point out that free school meals for everyone reduces the stigma of children being singled out for being needy.
California was the first state to establish free meals, at the start of the pandemic. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, now the Democratic vice presidential nominee, signed a free meal program into law that took effect in last year’s school year. New York City has a free meal program. The programs have not widely included the evening (dinner) meal.
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