VIP lunch guest at ASH highlights importance of free school meals

Albany School of Humanities (ASH) prekindergarten students made a new friend at the cafeteria table on Wednesday - Governor Kathy Hochul!

Governor Hochul - along with Senator Pat Fahy, Assemblymember Gabriella Romero and Mayor Dorcey Applyrs - joined Superintendent Joseph Hochreiter, Principal Marie Culihan and City School District of Albany Board of Education Members Sridar Chittur, Hassan Elminyawi and Ellen Krejci to tout the state's Universal Meals Program in conjunction with National School Breakfast Week.

“Today marks a major milestone in our overall affordability agenda, ensuring that New York students are not going hungry while they’re at school,” Governor Hochul said.

“Students do better in the classroom when they’re not worried about where their next meal is coming from. Over 275-million free school meals later, New York is stepping up to ensure our children’s success – all while bringing down grocery costs for families statewide.”

According to Governor Hochul's office, the initiative is saving New York families $450-million per month in grocery costs in the past six months.

The City School District of Albany has offered free breakfast and lunch for about 15 years, but New York's new program has highlighted the benefits for students. District wide, an average of 100 more students are choosing school breakfast and 200 more are eating school lunch, an overall growth of 4% in both categories for the 2025-26 school year.

"Governor Hochul's efforts and promotion have most definitely raised awareness that school meals are available at no cost to families and helped lift the stigma previously associated with school meal participation," explained City School District of Albany School Lunch Director Lisa Perron.

"We have seen new faces and our cafeterias are more social and interactive. We will always have some students bringing their lunch, but now they are more inclined now to participate."

Prior to the cafeteria tour, Governor Hochul was greeted by ASH's Student Equity Team led by advisor and grade 4 teacher, Abigail Kennedy. Governor Hochul also interviewed ASH students about the benefits of healthy and readily available school meals.

A full report on the visit, including a video created by Governor Hochul's office, can be found here.