When the New York City Department of Education announced in September that all public school students will now receive free lunch, it joined a growing number of cities around the country trying to ease food insecurity and end the phenomenon of "lunch shaming."
Previously about three-quarters of the city's 1.1 million public school students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch, but many didn't participate, often because parents hadn't completed necessary forms, or the student wanted to avoid the social stigma associated with receiving free meals.
New York's program also no longer requires any paperwork from parents.
"This is about equity," said New York Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina when the program was announced. "We're erasing all the terrible history of the school food program - not just in New York City, but nationally - that has divided children by income."
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