Gov signs bill to expand free school meals

Great news! Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill that will provide free school meals to more students living in struggling families.

The bill, A-5855/4200, will cover the full cost of school meals for about 66,000 kids whose parents now pay a portion of the meal charge.

Under the legislation, the state will provide $4.5 million to pay the cost of meals served to students who pay a reduced price for those meals.

The legislation, sponsored by Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Senator Teresa Ruiz, is especially important as the minimum wage rises. This will likely push more families into the reduced-price category, even though they still struggle financially.

Thanks to Gov. Murphy and our state lawmakers for making childhood hunger a priority!

Read the legislation.

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NJFSI Awards Grant to HFNJ to Advance Health Equity

The New Jersey Food Security Initiative (NJFSI), a collaboration of community organizations and local and state agencies led by the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, today announced it has awarded a $198,612 grant to Hunger Free New Jersey (HFNJ) to bolster food security and improve nutrition to advance health equity across the state.

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