Understanding Variability in School Food Participation 

Approximately 65,000 children on Long Island suffer from food insecurity, making free and reduced price school meals a critical resource in combating childhood hunger. According to recent research published by Feeding America, 39% of Long Islanders who receive emergency food are under 18 years of age, making children among the largest single population of the hungry. In spite of their overrepresentation among those who are food insecure, children cannot advocate for themselves, which often results in their needs being overlooked, further underscoring the importance of accessible school meal programs [1].  Based on New York State Department of Education data (2021-2022),  44% of students in school districts for which data are available on Long Island’s East End are economically disadvantaged, defined for these purposes to be a student who participates in, or whose family participates in economic assistance programs, such as the free or reduced-price lunch programs, Social Security Insurance (SSI), Food Stamps, Foster Care, Refugee Assistance (cash or medical assistance), Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), Safety Net Assistance (SNA), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), or Family Assistance: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).  This is higher than the overall Suffolk County average (41%) and much higher than neighboring Nassau County (29%). Despite this high number of students with potential need, across the East End’s school districts, the number of free meals provided to students  was much lower. The Riverhead Central School District has the highest number of economically disadvantaged students, however, the Riverhead CSD is also home to the most substantial school meal gaps.  While there were 3,251 students considered economically disadvantaged in the school district, there were on average 1,875 fewer students who received free breakfast and 647 who received free lunch. 

A key policy question centers on why eligible students are not taking advantage of free or reduced price meals for which they qualify. Reasons for program participation gaps can be manifold and attributed to everything from a lack of knowledge about assistance programs or the existence of stigma associated with receiving free meals. The explanations for participation gaps can also vary geographically or even by the circumstances surrounding each individual school. Regardless, it is imperative that all students experiencing food instability are able to seek relief through lunch and breakfast programs at school. Children who are hungry are more likely than their peers to experience behavioral issues and experience impairment in social and academic learning. In serious cases, childhood hunger can also result in permanent brain damage [2].

The dashboard below charts the number of students that likely qualify for free and reduced price school meals, relative to the number of meals served. The bar graph at the top indicates the percentage of economically disadvantaged students by school district, which are each color-coded in accordance to town. Below, the chart on the left visualizes the number of economically disadvantaged students per school district. On the right, we have displayed the likely breakfast meal gap for each school district with available data, calculated by subtracting the average number of daily reduced price/free breakfasts served from the number of economically disadvantaged students. 

It should be noted that data was not available for the following school districts listed below.

East Hampton: Amagansett, Montauk, Sag Harbor, Springs, Wainscott Common

Riverhead: Shoreham-Wading River

Southampton: Quogue, Sagaponack Common

Southold: Fishers Island, New Suffolk Common, Oysterponds

[1] Long Island Cares. 2022. “Impact.” Long Island Cares. https://www.licares.org/who-we-are/impact/

[2] Ibid.