New York City’s public schools started offering free lunch to every student when the new school year started last week.
About three-quarters of the city’s 1.1 million public schoolchildren qualify for free or reduced-price lunch under federal guidelines. But many eligible students haven’t received the free meals, often because parents neglect to fill out the required paperwork.
Advocates for child nutrition have long urged the city to ensure universal access by making lunch free.
Several other school districts, including those in Boston and Detroit, already offer free lunch for all.
