Students ask Leonia board to support statewide free school meals resolution

Student presenters from a Leonia High School humanities class urged the Leonia Board of Education to endorse a resolution asking New Jersey’s governor and legislature to pursue policies to eliminate student food insecurity, including universal free breakfast, lunch and snacks.

"Our goal would be to provide healthy, nutritious meals to all students in New Jersey regardless of their socioeconomic status," said a student presenter during the class’s presentation to the board. The students cited a figure used in their materials that "1 in 13" children experience food insecurity and pointed to examples in other states where districts have expanded meal access.

The students proposed steps that would begin with a board resolution and include outreach, referring the proposal to the state legislature, seeking grant funding and forming local partnerships with organizations such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, local food banks and retailers mentioned in the presentation. They also asked the board to post the presentation and source citations on the district website.

Board members and staff asked follow-up questions about local data and costs. A board member noted that most statistics shown were national and asked whether the students had county- or district-level figures; the presenters said district-specific data were harder to find and that they relied mainly on statewide and national sources. The board also asked if the students had cost estimates; they said precise local cost projections were not yet available.

District staff provided a rough context for current meal costs: the district representative noted total annual food-service costs and reimbursement levels, saying that the vendor arrangement results in a net district cost that the presentation suggested the students should use as a starting estimate for local funding discussions. The board did not vote on the student resolution; the chair said the presentation would be memorialized on the district website and that a final version of the resolution would be circulated to the board for consideration.

The school board praised the students’ work and thanked them for bringing the proposal forward; the board indicated it would review the final text and discuss next steps at a future meeting.