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Scan liaison for Island Harvest, can speak to the increase of food insecurity since the pandemic. Island Harvest distributed more than 16 million pounds of food last year, slightly less than the food distributed during the pandemic, but more than the food distributed before the pandemic.

“The new normal, unfortunately, is more need for food on Long Island,” May said. “These kinds of investments [universal school lunch] is what we need to ease the strain on our food banks and to feed our kids.”

According to Healthy School Meals For All, a policy proposal endorsed by a diverse coalition of organizations and associations, free school meals save families an estimated $140 per child in grocery spending each month.

Saving on a grocery bill is important, especially as prices continue to rise.

Currently, students can receive free or discounted lunch if their household income meets a certain criteria. However, the goal of universal lunch is to remove the stigma of feeling singled out on the lunch line, as well as provide lunch to all students, including those who may come from immigrant families who are hesitant to fill out the paper work, attend wealthy districts as part of the working class or who may even come from a home that is neglectful.

According to the New York State Department of Temporary and Disability Assistance, a family of four must make, approximately, under $55,500 to qualify for free or reduced lunch. According to an ALICE 2023 report released by United Way of New York State, however, the average household survival budget for a family of four in Nassau and Suffolk counties is $78,300.

“It does not account for all the financial realities faced such as debt, medical bills, expensive housing costs in urban and suburban districts, language barriers and discomfort when sharing personal details,” Garcia-France said of the current free and reduced lunch program. “These challenges in the paid school meal system impede students access to food and it impacts the school’s budget.”

Healthy School Meals For All states that access to these meals advance child health, educational and racial equality.

“Across all income levels kids receive their healthiest meals at school; children receiving school lunches consume more milk, fruit, vegetables, and fiber than their peers,” the Healthy School Meals For All website stated. “Healthy school meals for all supports learning, boosts test scores, and improves attendance and classroom behavior. Establishing statewide free meals can reduce longstanding and widening racial disparities in nutrition, health, education and achievement.”

James Daye, a NYSUT political action committee coordinator for Senate District 8 and fourth grade teacher, said he knows all too well the impact nutrition has on educating a student. He believes eliminating the stigma that comes with receiving free or reduced lunch will be the most effective way to make sure each student is well nourished.

“As a kid in the ’70s, I was one of those kids that had a card for free or reduced lunch, because my father, who was a construction worker, was out of work for four years, with six kids,” said Bob Vecchio, the executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Board Association.

“School meals were a big deal in our household, but I’ll tell you what, if I forgot that card, if I lost that card, you were embarrassed to say ‘hey I’m on the program.’ The stigma is real. It’s been real forever. Take the stigma away and give free meals to every student, regardless of zip code, regardless of income, regardless of household. It does make a difference. It makes learning better. I believe it’s part of a sound basic education, which is the constitutional right of every child in New York State.”

Vecchio added that when he was president of the William Floyd Union Free School

District Board of Education, 65 percent of students received free or reduced meals.

“That number should have been 70, because we had a hard time getting applications filled out by those that were eligible,” Vecchio said. “We are a CEP program out of William Floyd and it made a world of difference. Participation, the number of meals delivered within our schools, has gone up dramatically. It gives us greater options for the meal offerings as well because you’re driving cost down with higher volume.”

Before the district became a CEP school, Vecchio said, Fridays were the worst days.

“Kids were getting anxious,” Vecchio said. “Because they knew they weren’t going to eat over the weekend. Maybe they wouldn’t have heat in their homes. They came in Monday hungry. Some kids would have two or three breakfasts. My wife is a teacher’s aide in a kindergarten class. My grocery bill goes up exponentially because she’s bringing extra food in the classroom for those kids. That shouldn’t be. Not in this state. Not in this country.”

While the current call is for eligible districts to enroll in the CEP program, the fight does not stop there to make sure all students are well fed when attending school.

“We start our new session in January, the budget is due April 1,” González-Rojas said. “Pretty much right away in January we’ll be starting discussions around budget priorities...and we certainly will make this continue to be one of the budget priorities.”