New Jersey could soon be on a path to phasing in universal free school lunch.
The state over the next five years would gradually increase the number of K-12 students eligible for government-funded meal programs that have long assisted lower-income families, under a bill sponsored by a group of Democratic state lawmakers, including state Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin.
Ultimately, free lunch would be open to all students, regardless of their household income, starting in the 2028-29 academic year, according to the proposal (A5573).
The measure took its first step forward Thursday, as the Assembly Agriculture and Food Security Committee voted 4-0. with bipartisan support, to advance it at the Statehouse in Trenton.
While this plan would technically mean students without financial need would be eligible to get free food in five years, supporters say opening it up to everyone would help erase the shame that keeps some students from participating. That, they say, would lead to more children in need avoiding hunger and getting nutritious food.
“Universal free school lunch keeps money in the pockets of New Jersey families, and it helps overcome the stigma attached to free or reduced price school meals,” said Coughlin, D-Middlesex, who has pushed several anti-hunger bills in recent years. “By expanding access, we can ensure every student eats during the school day.”
New Jersey would join a handful of states that allow universal free lunch, including California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, and most recently Vermont. Several other states are considering similar moves despite pushback from some Republicans who say taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for a program that could benefit non-needy families and possibly lead to tax hikes to cover the cost.
The federal government has long funded free meals for U.S. students whose household income falls below 130% of the federal poverty level and reduced-price meals for those between 131% and 185% of that level, while New Jersey currently funds those from 186% to 199%. The system means eligible families either don’t have to pay for the food directly or get a discount.
More than 395,000 of the 1.4 million students in New Jersey received free or reduced-price breakfast and lunch between 2019 and 2020, according to federal data.
There were 762,530 New Jersey residents — including 192,580 children — who were “food insecure” in 2019. Those figures include people who reported in federal surveys they worry their food supply will run out, they cannot afford a balanced meal, or they skipped meals for an entire day because they did not have enough money to buy food.
That translates into 1 in 12 residents and 1 in 10 children in New Jersey who live in homes “without consistent access to adequate food for everyone to live healthy, active lives,” according to data from the state Department of Health.
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Under the new proposal, the state would reimburse school districts for the meals the federal government doesn’t fund and districts would be required to take steps to “minimize or offset” costs.
Assemblyman Roy Freiman, D-Somerset, chairman of the food security committee, said Thursday it’s unclear how much the plan would ultimately cost New Jersey taxpayers each year.
Still, Freiman agreed it would remove “embarrassment” associated with free lunch, with students no longer having to “single themselves out or go hungry as the other alternative because they didn’t have the meals.”
Assemblywoman Shanique Speight, D-Essex, another sponsor, added that children having to “worry about where their next meal will come from” is an “unfortunate reality for families that do not meet the eligibility requirements.”
The bill would now need to pass the full state Senate and Assembly — each of which are controlled by Democrats — before Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, could decide whether to sign it into law.
Free school meals were open to anyone in the U.S. at the height of the coronavirus pandemic under a federal waiver program. But that came to an end last June.
Some officials have called on Congress to make it permanent. In absence of that, states have been stepping in.
Lawmakers and Murphy enacted a law in September that expanded the income eligibility in New Jersey, opening it to 26,000 more students. Under that legislation, students in the state from a household in with an annual income of below 200% of the federal poverty level are eligible for free or reduced-price meals, as opposed to the federal threshold of 185%.
This new bill would expand it further to 250% or lower in the 2024-25 school year, 300% or lower in 2025-26, 350% or lower in 2026-27, and 400% or lower in 2027-28. All students would then be eligible beginning in 2028-29.
The proposal would also make students eligible to keep getting free lunches through a summer meals program or an emergency meals distribution program.
Last year’s expansion, which took effect this school year, was expected to cost New Jersey taxpayers about $19.2 million a year.
But some say the state should act even quicker as children grapple with hunger. Two speakers lobbied lawmakers Thursday to do away with the proposed phase-in and start universal free meals next school year.
“The time to act is now,” said Lisa Pitz, director of the advocacy group Hunger Free NJ. “Children cannot learn on an empty stomach.”
“School meals are just as important to academic success as textbooks and transportation, which we do not charge families for,” Pitz added. “School meals for all is the most effective, efficient, and equitable way to ensure that all children have the nutrition they need to grow and thrive.”
Toni Bowman, president-elect of the New Jersey School Nutrition Association, said doing this gradually would overwhelm districts with ever-changing data as they collect more applications each year.
“We are definitely in support of free meals for our students, but implementation is going to cause problems in our schools,” Bowman said.
She added that universal lunches would help fight “meal debt” — which is when students east school meals but can’t pay for them, forcing districts to face the bill.
“This school debt can be a teacher’s salary, it can cut an after-school program, it can impact sports,” Bowman said.
Assemblyman Alex Sauickie, R-Ocean, said he did “wrestle” with the legislation a “little bit” because of the possible price tag but ultimately voted for it.
“I’d like to see New Jersey more affordable, to lessen the need for something like this,” Sauickie said.
But, he noted, housing, energy, and food costs have gone up, and “the need for this is probably more than it’s ever been.” Plus, he said, “getting rid of that stigma ... is a big thing.”
Arlethia Brown, director of school nutrition at Camden’s school district, summed her position up this way: “You can’t put a price on feeding children.”
From NJ.com
