Author, Daytime Host and Child Nutrition Advocate Rachael Ray and Lunch 4 Learning Launch Petition to Urge New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to Expand Universal Free Lunch to all New York City Public School Students

NEW YORK, June 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Rachael Ray, in conjunction with the Lunch 4 Learning (L4L) campaign, has officially launched a petition urging New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to allow ALL of NYC's public school students to have universal free lunch via Change.org. A long time food justice advocate, Ray seeks to end bullying, income stigma and food insecurity NYC students face as a result of a school system that only offers free lunch for NYC's poorest children. Ray joins NYC parents, students, pediatricians, including the New York chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, NYC Council Members and other supporters of the 200 organization-based coalition, which has been pushing for full expansion of the program throughout the budget session.

"I've launched my Change.org petition urging Mayor Bill de Blasio to ensure that he sticks to his commitment of providing New York City public school students with a nutritious free lunch without regard to income," says Rachael Ray. "All children should have access to a nutritious hot meal at lunch, end of story. Kids with empty bellies can't learn."

An astonishing 75 percent of NYC's 1.1 million public school children have family incomes low enough to be eligible for free or reduced priced school lunch (below $37,000 for a household of three). Yet, hundreds of thousands of eligible students in NYC public schools do not participate in federally funded school lunch due to the program's poverty stigma.  Many of these students, especially those at the middle and high school level, go without eating school lunch for fear of being labeled poor by their peers, with long-lasting health and educational consequences.

Mayor de Blasio deemed universal as "crucial" when campaigning for office in 2013. During the 2014 budget season, he provided funds to roll out universal for middle school students in freestanding middle schools (grades 6^th – 8^th). The initiative was successful as 7,600 additional students starting eating lunch.

L4L, a diverse, coalition-based campaign spearheaded by Community Food Advocates, has been pushing Mayor Bill de Blasio to expand universal free lunch to all NYC public school students to eliminate income stigma in the lunchroom since 2014. The L4L campaign has brought together 260 organizational and elected partners, top chefs and celebrities to elevate this issue and focus attention on this anti-hunger, health and educational priority. Major cities such as Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and more have already implemented universal. For more information about L4L and its campaign, visit: www.lunch4learningnyc.org.

SOURCE Lunch 4 Learning (L4L)

Related Links

http://www.lunch4learningnyc.org