Yesterday, the New Jersey Senate passed legislation which will expand access to free school meals in both public and nonpublic schools that participate in the federal National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.
However, the bill as introduced would have excluded children who attend nonpublic schools from being included in the expansion.
As a result of the advocacy of Agudath Israel’s New Jersey office, the bill’s sponsors have now amended the bill to include nonpublic school children as well.
This means that the state will cover the cost for significantly more students to participate in the breakfast and lunch programs, enabling many more yeshivas and day schools to participate in the program and provide free breakfast and lunch to thousands of children across the state who are not currently receiving a free nutritious meal.
In addition, because of the increased cost of kosher food, many schools that do have children that are eligible for the Federal School Lunch Program do not provide this service because there are not enough children to make the program financially feasible, resulting in the most needy children not receiving lunches or breakfast.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the sponsors of this bill for recognizing the importance of including nonpublic schools in this legislation. Ensuring that all students, regardless of the school they attend, have access to proper nutrition is a commendable and inclusive approach,” said Rabbi Shlomo Schorr, who serves as the Director of Legislative Affairs for Agudath Israel of America’s New Jersey office, in his testimony before the New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee last week.
“By extending the benefits of the free lunch program to nonpublic schools, we acknowledge the diversity of our educational landscape and the shared responsibility to care for every child in our state,” Rabbi Schorr added.
The bill now heads to the Governor for his signature.
