On May 9, 2017, CCC released a report showing that there are nearly 110,000 moderately low-income children in New York City who do not have access to universal free lunch programs.  CCC urged the administration to expand its universal free lunch program to all public school students.

NYC children who families earn under 185% of the federal poverty level are eligible for free lunch.  In addition, NYC’s stand-alone middle schools and some elementary school and high schools offer universal free lunch.  Even with these programs, there are nearly 110,000 children in moderately low-income families earning 185%-275% of FPL (about $52,000 for a family of 3) who do not attend a school with free lunch.  These families are struggling to get by in NYC and universal free lunch would help alleviate some of the financial burdens on their families.