Among the issues Christine Quinn has made her priorities since being elected the first openly lesbian speaker of the City Council earlier this year is eliminating child hunger in the city.
Quinn was joined by former Senator George McGovern at P.S. 33 in Chelsea last week to unveil a citywide campaign to increase participation in school breakfast and summer meals. Currently, all 1.5 million New York City public school students are eligible for free school breakfast and summer meals. Yet, barely two students out of 10 participate in either program.
“When kids eat well in the morning, they do well at school all day long,” Quinn said. “And, as hunger does not take a vacation, we are also working to enroll more kids in the Summer Meals program.”
McGovern, national spokesperson for Got Breakfast?, said, “The City Council’s initiatives will improve the everyday lives of New Yorkers, and we are honored to have them join the coalition to help end hunger among children.”
The Council has proposed initiatives to coordinate the more than 20 city agencies that interact with the food system, enroll more eligible New Yorkers in the food stamp program and increase the number and accessibility of farmers’ markets, especially in less affluent communities.
