Dive Brief:

• Mayor Bill de Blasio has yet to show support for a $24 million New York City Council proposal to provide free lunch to all students.
• Critics of the proposal — de Blasio's administration included — believe it will negatively impact federal funding for low-income students because federal Title One funds are given to low-income schools based on the number of free or reduced lunch applications. There is some concern that universal lunches would impact distribution and create budget gaps.  
• Supporters believe the bill would help feed children whose families are perhaps too embarrassed or prideful to fill out a free or reduced lunch application.  

Dive Insight:

According to supporters, 780,000 (about 75%) of the city's students qualify for free or reduced lunch, but a third of that number do not receive it. The bill is hoped to normalize receiving state-aided lunches. While Mayor de Blasio and the city's education chancellor, Carmen Fariña, understand these points, they want to make sure funding to low-income schools will not get thrown off course if plan is passed.

Regardless of whether the plan moves forward, figuring out how to ensure students are not going hungry has come up as a main issue. As one high school senior told the Wall Street Journal, "People don't want to get the lunch because it makes them look poor. It's very uncomfortable."