NJ Bill Would Make School Breakfast Free For All Public School Students

A bill has been introduced in New Jersey proposing free breakfast for all students enrolled in New Jersey's public schools.

I remember being a kid, the idea of breakfast at school was wild; I was a much bigger fan of having two bowls of Golden Grahams at home before getting on the bus. Yeah, I was a big kid; I ate a lot of cereal.

However, I had a lot of friends that would get to school early and would end up buying their breakfast, and I'd imagine having to do that every day, on top of buying a school lunch, added up pretty quickly. Especially if you're a family that had more than one kid enrolled in a public school.

A New Proposed Bill Aims To Make Breakfast Free At All NJ Public Schools

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Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin has proposed a new bill that would make school breakfast not just more affordable for students and families, but absolutely free for any student attending a public school.

How Much Does Breakfast At An NJ Public School Cost?

In New Jersey, there are roughly 600 public schools that could be affected by this, and on average, a breakfast at a New Jersey public school can cost anywhere from $1.50 a day up to $3.75 a day, depending on the school, grade, and district.

Why Is There A Push To Make School Breakfast Free In NJ?

A big push for the bill comes from a study that shows childhood hunger can impede learning and cause lifelong health problems. As well as the fact that there are already thousands of eligible students who could receive free or low-cost breakfasts, but don't due to a stigma or because filling out the paperwork is too challenging for some parents.

This proposed bill seeks to change that, making access to a free breakfast easier.

When Would Free Breakfast At NJ Schools Start, And Who's Paying For It?

Now word on if or when this would go into effect, or where the money for the free breakfasts would come from. However, New Jersey is already an expensive state: if I have to pay an extra couple bucks a year so a kid can eat for free at school, that's a tax I'm personally fine paying.