A Step In The Right Direction For Free School Lunch

BY JENNIFER CORR jcorr@antonnews.com

On July 26 at Clear Stream Avenue School, an elementary school of Valley Stream District 30, a message was made clear by state and school officials, community food advocates and other members of the community: student hunger needs to be eradicated in New York.

“Despite the abundance of resources on our planet, more than 34 million people in the United States are experiencing food insecurity,” said Dr. Roxanne Garcia-France, the superintendent of Valley Stream District 30. “Unfortunately, this is a risk that some American families have become accustomed to living in. In Valley Stream District 30, approximately half of the students receive free and reduced meals. This pressing reality of food insecurity has necessitated the board of education, our administrators, our teachers and staff, students and families and our local community, which are here today, to step up our advocacy efforts for policy changes at both the local and state levels.”

The press conference, held with Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, Assemblymember Michaelle Solages, New

York State United Teachers (NYSUT), Island Harvest, community food advocates, PTAs, and other local residents, encouraged school districts to opt into the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). The CEP guarantees that all meals are provided free of charge, regardless of a student’s family income level. Aug. 31 is the deadline to opt into the program. González-Rojas, with the support of Senator Michelle Hinchey and the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Caucus, chaired by Solages, sponsored a bill calling for universal school breakfast and lunch, which would require that all public school districts, charter schools and non-public schools in the state serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to the students.

“We were able to galvanize tons of support,” González-Rojas said. “It was a bipartisan bill. This was a very unifying bill and we were able to get the language into the budget and dedicate [approximately] $134.5 million towards this program. It’s not full universal. That’s our goal.”

During the pandemic, Solages explained, universal breakfast and lunch were provided to students.

“Many parents said that was a big help,” Solages said. “This bill, this budget item, is really attacking the affordability crisis, especially here on Long Island where it’s so expensive to live and every little bit helps. Even if a parent is deemed middle class, the middle class is shrinking. This is really uplifting children and providing them not only with the tools needed for educational learning, but also helping families survive in New York.”

Gregory May, the government relations see SCHOOL LUNCH on page 5B