Today we celebrate a major victory for health, children, education, and equity. The 2025–2026 New York State budget expands and fully funds universal free school meals, ensuring that 2.7 million students across the State have the food they need to be healthy and ready to learn.
Universal school meals are a proven strategy to reduce food insecurity, improve mental and physical health, boost academic performance, and increase educational and economic equity.
We thank the Governor for her leadership and applaud the Legislature for its support—especially Senator Hinchey and Assemblymember Gonzalez-Rojas, who championed the policy in their respective houses.
The New York Health Foundation is especially proud to have supported the educational and advocacy efforts that helped make this possible. Hunger Solutions New York and Community Food Advocates, both NYHealth grantees, led an unwavering campaign to advance this policy. We congratulate them and their coalition of supporters.
NYHealth leaned in hard and acted as a changemaker—not just a grantmaker—to help drive this policy forward. We testified about it, wrote about it, and spoke about it at public forums to build momentum and support.
We also recognize that proposed federal funding cuts for school food programs and new administrative burdens could threaten this progress. Such actions would be devastating to children, families, and local economies—and should be rejected. A healthy nation depends on affordable access to nutritious food for all.
By enacting this sweeping policy change, New York State has affirmed its commitment to the health and wellbeing of its residents. It’s a proud moment for New York.
