This week New York State launched the Universal School Meals Program, providing free lunch and breakfast for students. 

The new initiative ensures every single one of New York’s 2.7 million students receive free meals at school, addressing food insecurity in the classroom and driving down costs for families.

We applaud this decision, which will allow children to not have to worry about being hungry in school and also give parents’ relief in their budgets. 

Offering free school meals is a proven and effective way to help keep kids in school and able to focus in the classroom. Additionally, free school meals are estimated to save families $165 per child in grocery spending each month and have been shown to support learning, boost test scores, and improve attendance and classroom behavior.

Educating our youth is one of the most important things we can do as a society. But we know that schools, teachers and administrators face many challenges in today’s world. 

Hopefully this along with New York’s cellphone ban will help kids concentrate and socialize more while they are at school.

In addition, we hope that schools are providing healthy meals for their breakfast and lunch programs. 

While addressing hunger is needed, so is making sure that students are receiving proper nutrition with foods that are packed with vitamins, minerals and nutrients. 

The Healthy School Meals for All New York Kids Coalition—a group of more than 350 nonprofits, parent and teacher groups, labor unions, education associations, and anti-hunger organizations—worked closely with state leaders to make universal free school meals a reality in New York.

And we know that local organizations like A Single Bite work with chefs and farms to not only provide kids with healthy meals, but also educate them about it. 

Let’s keep it up for many school years to come.