Free School Available for All NYC Public School Students
Free lunch available at Stuyvesant from a student’s perspective
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School lunch is now free for all New York City public school students. The policy, Free Lunch for All, was announced by Chancellor Carmen Farina on September 6.
Historically, free lunch was provided for 75 percent of public school students based on family income. The purpose of the new policy is to eliminate the stigma against students who receive free lunch.
Lunch previously cost $2.25 for students who had to pay full price. However, Free Lunch for All is not expected to cost New York City more. Due to changes in how the city collects data on needy families, the city recently qualified for a federal program that will compensate for Free Lunch for All.
Though this change means each family’s income is irrelevant to qualify for free or reduced lunch, it is still important for families to complete the School Meals Form distributed to students during homeroom. The income data from these forms is needed in order to appropriately distribute funding as per the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which provides financial assistance to schools with high percentages of low-income students, such as Stuyvesant.
Some believe the policy will not have a large effect on Stuyvesant. In a survey distributed online by The Spectator, 32.3 percent of respondents (151 students) answered that the new policy would have no effect on them. “I don’t really care about whether school lunch is free or not. I eat lunch outside anyway,” junior Francis Park said.
However, 33.1 percent of respondents (155 students) expect to eat school lunch more regularly, and 34.4 percent of respondents (161 students) already eat school lunch frequently.
Principal Eric Contreras views the change positively. “When students come to Stuy[vesant], I want their main focus to be on their academics and their success in and out of the classroom,” Contreras said. “Having a healthy nutritious lunch is an important thing for all students, and at Stuyvesant, for students to spend sometimes 10 hours every day here, making sure that they're not hungry while they’re in class or in club [meetings] or [during] sports team [practices] is really key for me.”