ALBANY – State Senator Michelle Hinchey (D, Saugerties) Monday led an Albany rally calling for full funding of a Healthy School Meals program that would provide free breakfast and lunch to all students in the state.
Backed by members of the Healthy Schools Meals for All NY Kids Coalition, Hinchey said the program must be expanded beyond last year’s funding of the free meals program.
“It is our job, it is our requirement that we make sure that we fund this program for every single student across the state regardless of income eligibility because every student deserved to eat good food in school,” she said.
In last year’s budget, Hinchey secured $134.6 million for healthy school meals for over 347,000 students in 1,200 schools.
She is calling for the 2024-25 state budget to include funding to expand the program for another 321,000 students in 650 schools.
