Recently, New York State Schools have started serving free breakfast and lunch during the new 2025-2026 school year. This is part of the state’s new Universal Free Meals act. This new law provides schools to distribute free meals, like breakfast and lunch, to students for free without any cost. Before the free school meals program went into affect, you were able to get free meals if your family made $39,000 annually for a family of 4, a reduced cost if your family made $55,500 annually for a family of 4, and you would have to pay full price if you made made over $55,500 annually for a family of 4. This new law is a step heading in the right direction. 

I believe that this law was a great change and it is going to be a big help for so many families. There are families that don’t have enough money or don’t get paid a lot, so it is a struggle for them to provide for themselves and the rest of their family, especially their children attending school. With this new law, low income families don’t have to worry about their children not being able to eat at school because breakfast and lunch are both free. Families that are currently struggling in this position can now save a little extra money for other things, now that school meals are free. This new law also means that families no longer have to obtain a certain amount of income in order to receive this benefit. 

In conclusion, I believe that this new law is going to help so many families struggling to provide money and income. They will no longer have to worry about sending their children to school without money for food because it is now free. Low income families can now focus on saving money in order to live in a better place instead of constantly worrying about sending their children to school without money to purchase meals.