The New York City (NYC) Department of Education is the largest public school system in the United States, with an enrollment of >1.1 million students. Students who participate in school meal programs can have higher dietary quality than nonparticipating students. Historically, family income documentation qualifying students in the NYC Department of Education for free or reduced-price meals reimbursed by the National School Lunch Program perpetuated poverty stigma. Additionally, National School Lunch Program qualification paperwork was a deterrent to many vulnerable families to participate and impeded all eligible children’s access to nutritious meals, potentially magnifying food insecurity. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 provided a viable option for schools to serve free meals to all students, regardless of income status, as a universal free lunch (UFL) through a Community Eligibility Provision if ≥40% of students already participated in another means-based program, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. In this case study, we describe the processes of (1) strategic coalition building of the Lunch 4 Learning campaign (a coalition of students, parents, school-based unions, teachers, pediatricians, community leaders, and children’s advocacy organizations) to bring UFL to all NYC public schools, (2) building political support, (3) developing a media strategy, and (4) using an evidence-based strategy to overcome political, administrative, and procedural challenges. The Lunch 4 Learning campaign successfully brought UFL to all NYC public schools in 2017. This case study informs further advocacy efforts to expand UFL in other school districts across the country and national UFL advocacy.

纽约市 (NYC) 教育部是美国最大的公立学校系统，注册学生超过 110 万。参加学校膳食计划的学生可以比不参加的学生有更高的饮食质量。从历史上看，纽约市教育部的学生有资格获得由国家学校午餐计划报销的免费或减价餐的家庭收入证明使贫困的污名长期存在。此外，国家学校午餐计划资格文件阻碍了许多弱势家庭的参与，并阻碍了所有符合条件的儿童获得营养餐，从而可能加剧粮食不安全。2010 年的《健康、无饥饿儿童法案》为学校提供了一个可行的选择，可以为所有学生提供免费膳食，无论收入状况如何，如果 ≥ 40% 的学生已经参加了另一个以经济为基础的计划，例如补充营养援助计划，则可以通过社区资格条款作为通用免费午餐 (UFL)。在本案例研究中，我们描述了 (1) Lunch 4 Learning 活动（学生、家长、学校工会、教师、儿科医生、社区领袖和儿童倡导组织的联盟）的战略联盟建设过程，以将 UFL纽约市所有公立学校，(2) 建立政治支持，(3) 制定媒体策略，以及 (4) 使用基于证据的策略来克服政治、行政和程序方面的挑战。Lunch 4 Learning 活动在 2017 年成功地将 UFL 带到了纽约市的所有公立学校。