All five of the city’s borough presidents are pushing Mayor de Blasio to offer free lunch to all public school kids.
The pols – Staten Island Republican Jimmy Oddo and Democrats Eric Adams of Brooklyn, Gale Brewer of Manhattan, Melinda Katz of Queens and Ruben Diaz Jr. of the Bronx – wrote a letter to de Blasio asking him to put the cash in next year’s budget for universal free lunch.
Kids currently qualify for free lunch based on their income, but backers of universal free lunch argue some end up going hungry because they’re too embarrassed to take the freebies when others are paying.
“Students would, over time, feel less stigmatized by universal free lunch and would be able to study without hunger. Families would feel an immediate impact by not having to pay for lunch, or worry whether their child was receiving the proper nutrition they need,” the borough presidents wrote.
“School staff would not have to spend valuable time trying to collect and account for student payments. A healthy, nutritious school lunch improves academic performance, helps prevent obesity and improve student health, and promotes a healthier, more positive lifestyle.”
The city started a pilot program to offer universal free lunch at all middle schools. But officials have said it has not make enough of a difference in lunch participation to merit expanding to all schools.
Backers estimate free lunch for all would cost another $9 million on top of the $11.25 million being spent on the middle school program.
During the 2015-2016 school year, 76.5% of students qualified for free or reduced price lunch.
“This Administration is dedicated to ensuring students have access to nutritious meals and that hunger never serves as a hindrance to learning,” said de Blasio spokeswoman Freddi Goldstein. “Universal Free Lunch was expanded and is now offered to over 350,000 students citywide. We are reviewing the possibility of expanding it to even more schools and are doing our due diligence to make sure resources are used wisely.”
