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Coalition Calls on Mayoral Candidates To Support Free and Healthy Lunches for All NYC Public School Students

(New York, October 17, 2013)—At a press conference today at City Hall, the Lunch 4 Learning campaign, a coalition of 88 New York City organizations, led by Community Food Advocates, called on the mayoral candidates to make school lunch a true educational and health program by offering free lunch to all public school students.
 
Last month the Coalition delivered a letter to the mayoral candidates explaining that the stigma of poverty associated with school lunch discourages students from participating in the school food program.  

According to the New York City Department of Education, seventy-five percent of New York City’s public school students have family income low enough to qualify for free or reduced priced meals.  A family of three earning over $36,131 annually falls into the “paid” category, yet given the high cost of living in New York City many of these families struggle to make ends meet.
 
Applying for free or reduced priced meals is the only time parents of NYC public school students are asked their incomes and it is the beginning of the stigma that impacts participation in school lunch. Many students go without food for fear of being labeled poor, especially as they get older.  78 percent of elementary school pupils eat lunch in school; participation drops to 61 percent in middle school; and in high school, only 38 percent eat school lunch.

Dr. Lori Legano, Vice President, American Academy of Pediatrics New York Chaprter 3: 
“Food insecurity or lack of sufficient food at home is a problem for many New York City children and negatively affects children’s health.  If universal free lunch is enacted, this will ensure that generations of NYC schoolchildren will have access to healthy food at school, a critical intervention for promoting the healthy growth and development of NYC children.”  

 

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