Kids eat free: Universal school meal program launches statewide this fall

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — Starting in September, all 2.7 million public and charter school students in New York State are supposed to start receiving free breakfast and lunch at school, regardless of family income. Funded with $340 million in the FY2026 state budget, New York's statewide free school meals program is only the ninth in the country.

The budget language specifically mandates that all schools already participating in the federal National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program must offer meals to all students free of charge. For schools not already enrolled, the law makes them apply to join the federal programs to get repaid by the state.

Only students from low-income families qualified for free or reduced-price meals under those two federal programs. Eligibility is strictly based on income and household size, meaning that some 300,000 kids from families that earned slightly too much couldn't participate. In March, Gov. Kathy Hochul reported that New York was already receiving about 2 billion in federal dollars a year to pay for school meals.

The $340 million from New York targets that gap in federal reimbursements, which don’t cover every student. The state will pay the school for meals not reimbursed by the federal government. Now, any school participating in the federal programs has to offer both meals to all students free of charge. They'll get reimbursed by the state at a full meal rate, so districts won't need to charge even partial fees.

A 2023 survey by Hunger Solutions New York found that 82% of parents reported that the program saved them money. And many school nutrition experts agree that universal meals improve student attendance, test scores, and mental health.

Beyond improved academic performance, officials expect the policy to reduce administrative overhead, let schools source healthier food from local farms, and save families about $165 per month per child. Education, health, agriculture, and anti-poverty groups celebrated the program, calling it a landmark investment in childhood well-being.

"This is a major victory," said Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, a lead sponsor of the policy in the form of legislation, before being incorporated into the budget. "We’ve eliminated the stigma that has kept too many kids out of the cafeteria and lifted a huge burden off working families."

Childhood hunger and food insecurity remain widespread in New York. According to Feeding America, about 750,000 children in the state were food insecure in 2023, with nearly 20% of children in households unable to afford consistent, nutritious food. A May 2024 Comptroller report estimated that over 11% of New York households went hungry at some point from 2020 through 2022.

While most food-insecure students qualify for federal aid, about one in five, or 20%, don't. The new universal school meals program is specifically designed to prevent that fifth from falling through the cracks.

The budget also included other child poverty measures, like the expanded Empire State Child Tax Credit and $50 million for a housing access voucher pilot program for families at risk for homelessness starting in 2026. It also earmarked $50 million for hunger relief initiatives like the Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program and Nourish NY.

Even so, not all food access gaps were closed. The final budget did not increase the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program minimums or expand coverage to immigrant families ineligible for federal food aid. Advocates also said that Nourish NY funding still fell short.

Critics from the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice said that the final budget represented a missed opportunity. They pointed to the state’s Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council, which had recommended expanding the public safety net and raising taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers.

"These measures are grossly inadequate when we consider how much New Yorkers are already struggling and how much worse things could get if Congress passes the budget reconciliation bill currently being considered," read a joint statement from the Kairos Center's Liz Theoharis and West McNeill. "We are especially alarmed by the additional powers this budget gave to the governor to make unilateral cuts in the case of a federal revenue shortfall."

Take a look at video of Hochul making a case for universal school meals at Eagle Point Elementary School in Albany in March: