Standing at Westbury Middle School on Long Island, Governor Kathy Hochul unveiled her fifth proposal for the 2025 State of the State Affordability Agenda, an initiative to ensure every single one of New York’s over 2.7 million students can receive breakfast and lunch for free at school.
According to the Governor, this program will help save parents money, address food insecurity among New York kids, and create more opportunities for students to succeed. Free school meals are estimated to save families $165 per child in grocery spending each month and according to the Governor, have been shown to support learning, boost test scores, and improve attendance and classroom behavior.
This new State of the State initiative will cover the cost of free lunch and breakfast for every student at every school in New York State regardless of their participation in the program, which will expand eligibility to nearly 300,000 additional students.
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