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When districts open their doors in September, all students will be able to head to the cafeteria to receive a free breakfast and lunch each school day under a new state program.
The state budget passed by lawmakers in May includes $340 million to provide universal free meals for public school students statewide during the 2025-26 school year, covering gaps in the federal meal program that provides free meals to pupils whose families met an income requirement.
While some school districts -- including Amsterdam, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs and Mohonasen -- had already been able to provide free meals to all students as they meet the federal income threshold, others will be rolling out universal meal programs for the first time since a state program that provided funding for free meals from 2020 to 2022 during the pandemic.
The Shenendehowa Central School District was able to offer free meals across three of the district's 12 school buildings last year, with three of the schools meeting the 25% threshold for their student bodies.
Katherine Headwell, the district's director of school nutrition services, said the state funding should eliminate confusion with all students and schools now eligible for free meals.
"It was very confusing for the parents who maybe had a child at one elementary school eating for free but a child at the high school not eating for free," Headwell said.
Headwell said that during the free meal program during the pandemic, the district fed between 70-80% of district students per day, with that number dropping to approximately 30% after the program expired and the barrier to pay for the meals returned.
"It was just terrible, so we've been fighting and trying to advocate for years that it's so important to have this program to feed all the kids," Headwell said. "This shouldn't even be an issue. Kids come to school and they get Chromebooks, nursing services and transportation. Why not, in a building that they legally have to be in, why can't we feed them breakfast and lunch for free?"
The Greater Amsterdam School District began offering free breakfast and lunch to all students through federal funding amidst the pandemic. After the pandemic, the district continued to provide free meals through the state's Community Eligibility Provision , which allows districts to offer free meals to all students if 25% or more of students meet income requirements. Around 75% of Amsterdam students qualify.
District Superintendent Richard Ruberti acknowledged the only meals some students receive each day are at school. The district also has a backpack program providing students food to take home over the weekend and a pantry organized by family advocates with food, toiletries and other items to help fill gaps for kids and families in need.
"I see it as that kind of ever evolving role of the district to provide the additional supports that families need," Ruberti said. "We take that role seriously."
Luis Fernandez, senior school food director for Amsterdam, said offering free meals erases the potential discomfort students who rely on the support may feel and ensures all students have access to nutritious meals each school day.
"It removes the stigma and ensures students don't enter the classroom hungry. It supports better attention behavior and academic performance," Fernandez said.
The Niskayuna Central School District will learn over the course of the next few months how much food will be needed each day with all students now eligible for free meals, according to Director of Food and Nutrition Ross Tuskey
"We expect this to be huge for the community and we expect the community to take advantage of it," Tuskey said. "I'm excited to provide these meals to the kids. I think we have the opportunity to do something great here."
Jessica Brennan of Nisky NOW [Nutrition on Weekends] said the expanded meal program should complement the group's work to provide meals for Niskayuna families in need, with weekly bags of food delivered to their homes.
"I think this will be a really nice dovetail to support families for the school week, then Nisky NOW covers the weekends," said Brennan, who works as a social worker in the district and serves on the town board. "So it'll be a nice complement to the program."
Meanwhile, Amsterdam has seen a surge in students taking advantage of the available meals since the district switched food service providers last school year, hiring Fernandez through Capital Region BOCES to oversee school food services across the district.
The district served approximately 684,258 meals to students during the 2023-24 school year. The number increased to approximately 728,439 meals served to students in the 2024-25 school year.
Fernandez has sought to reshape the school meal perception and experience by offering fresh foods students want. He's a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America with experience in the restaurant and corporate dining industries.
Food service staff now prepare meals from scratch with standardized recipes. Local fruits and vegetables are offered daily. Students are surveyed to develop menus suited to their tastes. Fernandez has also tried to create more diverse menus, celebrating the cuisines of various cultures.
Empanadas, General Tso's chicken and teriyaki pineapple chicken were among some of the most popular meals served last year. School staples like pizza and chicken tenders continue to be served, but are elevated by their fresh preparation. Fresh salads and sandwiches are also served daily.
"It's healthier, it's a better product, it's cost effective and we know what's going into each meal," Fernandez said.
Administrators say there's been little to no cost increase following the switch. The district receives around 80% state aid for BOCES services.
The Schenectady City School District had already been providing free meals to its entire student body for nearly a decade through the sate's Community Eligibility Provision program. So, it will be business as usual for students and staff returning to classes next month, with free breakfast and lunch provided to all students.
"For us it'll be the same," Schenectady Superintendent Carlos Cotto Jr. said. "Back in 2017, through the Community Eligibility Provision, we've been providing breakfast and lunch to all of our students, and that will remain the same. Outside of the [school] day, when we do extended programming, we also provide snacks and dinner, as we're attaching it to the academic supports as students transition from the school day to after-school programs."
Although it's difficult to quantify the impact, Ruberti said offering free meals to all students and the improved quality of the food served by Amsterdam could be a contributing factor in improved behavior and it gives students another reason to come to school.
While chronic absenteeism is still a challenge, Ruberti said the district saw improvement in attendance this past school year, especially at the elementary level.
"I do think when you're providing those resources, it certainly is going to have a positive impact and that's just one of many things that we're doing," said Ruberti, noting the district's ban on cellphones, expanded busing and efforts by teachers, counselors and others to support students could be other factors.
The more involved cooking process was an admitted adjustment for food service staff largely accustomed to heating up prepackaged items, but Fernandez said staff now take pride in making the food themselves.
Amsterdam was also honored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service and Action for Healthy Kids with an Innovation in the Preparation of School Meals award for its food service program creating and preparing scratch-made recipes for school breakfast and lunch.
"I take pride in changing the stigma of what a school lunch is. I really took it as a personal goal to change how it's been for the past 30 years. I think food needs to be better and I think this is a step in the right direction with us providing better food, local food and fresh fruits and vegetables and really asking [students] what they want to eat," Fernandez said.
Even teachers and staff have noticed the difference and are enjoying school meals. Although district staff have to buy their meals, District Business Manager Kristin Barnhill pointed to the quality food as convenient and affordable.
"It is cheaper than going out somewhere," said Barnhill, who enjoys school salads.
While the state funding currently covers only the 2025-2026 school year, Headwell said she was hopeful that the program will be expanded to future years.
"We want to take that stigma away from free meals," Headwell said. "Now, everybody's on the same playing field and nobody knows anything and kids can just come up and we can feed them, no matter what their economic background is."
The state's universal free school meals initiative isn't expected to cause any change to the food services offered by Amsterdam this school year other than a possible shift in funding sources.
If state funding is discontinued, Ruberti said the district would do everything it could to continue offering free lunches to maintain the vital resource for students.
"It's so important, and we all know that providing the basics to students is substantial and from that point on they can't learn if they're hungry or not ready to learn," Ruberti said.