WALLKILL – Officials from the region are renewing their call to enact the universal healthy school meals program, an effort that failed to advance beyond committee in the 2022 legislative session. Assemblyman Brian Maher (R- Walden) and State Senator Peter Oberacker (R- Schenevus) are supporting the creation of a permanent healthy school meals program in New York. The legislation would establish the program to provide breakfast and lunch to all children in public school districts from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade.
The federal program that provided meals to students during the pandemic has expired, leaving 726,000 students without access to these meals. The effort was promoted at a news conference hosted by the lawmakers, and supported by school district officials and community leaders who battle food insecurity.
Sara Gunn, Director of the Regional Foodbank of the Hudson Valley, and Lori Rolison, American Heart Association, are two such leaders who support the program. “The Foodbank of the Hudson Valley happily supports universal school meals for K-12 students. We have worked with school districts to set up pantries at individual schools and students won’t use them because of the stigma. Students aren’t coming because they are more afraid of being teased or bullied than they are of going hungry. A program like universal school meals will eliminate this problem. No child should go hungry, especially over something like a stigma in the schools,” said Sara Gunn of the Foodbank of the Hudson Valley.
“Our children deserve to succeed in school, no matter their circumstances. None of them should be distracted by hunger taking their attention from their studies, personal growth and development,” said Maher, a member of the Committee on Children and Families.
The lawmakers hope to forward the bill this session, which is carried by Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas and has more than 50 co-sponsors.
