(Courtesy of TeachNJ) School lunch panic may soon be a thing of the past.

A new bill, which passed New Jersey’s legislative committees earlier this week, will begin the expansion of free school lunch for New Jersey students – including those attending nonpublic schools, day schools and yeshivas.

While a previous draft of this bill did not initially include children in day schools (or any nonpublic school), leadership in Trenton expanded free school lunch eligibility. The expanded program will include students 250% above the federal poverty line. The state will look to expand eligibility year over year. Now, yeshiva and day school students will be included in these expansions.

“Meals in schools are a vital resource for families across the state,” said Dan Mitzner, Director of Government Affairs of Teach Coalition. “We are especially grateful to Assemblyman Gary Schaer for championing our community’s needs. We would also like to thank Speaker Coughlin, Senate President Scutari, Budget Chairs Senator Sarlo and Assemblywoman Pintor-Marin, Assemblywoman Swain and Senator Ruiz for their leadership in ensuring that ALL students are included in this program. As the program expands, it will make a huge difference for Jewish households and our community as a whole.”

Prior to this, pandemic-era federally funded meals helped mediate the struggle and expense of school meals. However, those programs have since ended and combined with rising inflation and a surge in food pricing, households across the state have felt the strain.

“Our kids should not bear the brunt of this struggle. Children cannot learn if their basic needs aren’t met. We are so grateful that our policy makers in Trenton understand this, and are with us in asking New Jersey to step in and help fill the gap to ensure no child is left hungry,” said Katie Katz, Executive Director of Teach NJ.

To find out how you can help secure universal meals for Jewish day school students, head to: teachcoalition.org/nj