New York City to offer free lunch for all public school students

New York City public schools announced Wednesday that lunch would be available at no charge to students beginning this school year, according to The New York Times.

The city’s more than 1 million public school students will now receive lunch at no charge, a meal that previously cost them $1.75, according to the Times.

“This is about equity,” schools chancellor Carmen Fariña said Wednesday. “All communities matter.”

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Seventy-five percent of public school students in the city previously qualified for free or reduced-price lunches, according to the Times, but the new policy is expected to impact an additional 200,000 students. Breakfast is already free for students across New York City.

New York City joins other major metropolitan areas, including Chicago, Boston and Dallas, in offering free lunch to all its students.

New York’s announcement comes as laws on so-called school lunch shaming have made their way into Congress.

Earlier this year a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill that would ban schools from singling out children who couldn’t afford to pay for lunch or who have outstanding school lunch balances.