Kate Lisa reports for New York State of Politics that some New York legislators are calling for free breakfast and lunches for all public school students to be included in this year's state budget. New York State PTA Executive Director Kyle McCauley Belokopitsky said on Jan. 19. "When children are fed and they are not hungry, they learn better, they engage more, they are happier, they are healthier." A federal pandemic program recently ended, removing access to free school meals for 726,000 students in New York. State senator Michelle Hinchey, a Democrat from Saugerties, is sponsoring a bill with $200 million in funding for free school meals for all students in the next state budget. Hinchey said, "That's money that can go to rent — that's money that can go to mortgage,.... It's money that can go to groceries for dinner or for the weekends. That's really important money that we can put back into a family's pocket." Right now, a family of four in New York must make less than $51,000 annually for students to qualify for federal free or reduced lunch program. Read the full story at New York State of Politics.