The New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate is asking for assistance with spreading the word about a new law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy that expands the income eligibility for the free and reduced-price school meals.
As a result of the legislation, an additional 60,000 children are expected to become eligible for the program in New Jersey In addition, this year’s application rate will also determine eligibility for the 2025 Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program, which is a child nutrition program intended to reduce hunger and food insecurity for children who lose access to free school meals.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, application rates for reduced meals have plummeted across the state, which correlates to an increase in school meal debt held by families. In an effort to reduce this trend (and hopefully reverse it), the New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate in partnership with Hunger Free New Jersey, which is the leading advocacy organization working to end hunger in New Jersey, has created a handy toolkit that organizations, community members, and advocates can use to help spread the word about the change in income eligibility requirements for the program.
The toolkit includes:
- A School Meals and Summer EBT Application explainer and slides.
- Social media graphics and sample posts.
- Email, newsletter, text message, and phone call templates for schools and organizations to use to communicate with families about the School Meals and Summer EBT Application.
- Printable fliers and posters.
On the toolkit page, you can also submit a request to have a representative from the Office of the Food Security Advocate to attend your Back-to-School night to highlight the benefits of filling out the “School Meals and Summer EBT Application.”