Speaker Coughlin Unveils Proposal to Require Schools to Provide Free Breakfast to All Students
This legislation is a major step toward ending childhood hunger in New Jersey
Continuing a legislative agenda that has expanded access to school meals, strengthened SNAP benefits, and secured historic investments in emergency food assistance, Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin announced his latest effort to combat childhood hunger – unveiling plans to introduce a bill that would require K-12 school districts to provide free school breakfast for every enrolled student.
“Studies have shown that childhood hunger impedes learning and can cause lifelong health problems. While New Jersey schools have made great strides over the years in serving breakfast to more students to give them a strong start to the day, we know there are still thousands of eligible children who do not participate in free school breakfast programs,” said Speaker Coughlin (D-Middlesex). “Sometimes there can be a stigma to receiving free meals or difficulties in filling out paperwork to participate, so we need to remove all of these barriers to make sure that no student goes hungry.”
Speaker Coughlin’s bill would establish universal free school breakfast in New Jersey, requiring every K-12 school to provide breakfast to all enrolled students at no cost, regardless of household income or eligibility for federal meal assistance.
The proposal builds on years of school meal expansions championed by Speaker Coughlin, including extending free breakfast and lunch eligibility to families earning up to 225 percent of the federal poverty level. New Jersey has also eliminated reduced-price lunch costs, strengthened protections against meal shaming and punishment over unpaid balances, and pushed to connect eligible families with school meal programs. The legislation announced today would take that progress a step further by removing income eligibility restrictions on school breakfast altogether.
The Speaker announced his intention to introduce the bill during his keynote speech at the New Jersey Office of the Food Security Advocate’s annual Garden State Conference on Food Security: Setting a Table for All, for Always.
Additionally, Speaker Coughlin also announced plans to introduce the Anti-Fraud Efficient Income Verification Act, which would modernize New Jersey’s system for determining eligibility for programs like SNAP and Medicaid by requiring employers to report wages and hours worked after each pay period rather than quarterly.
The change is intended to streamline the administrative process while also eliminating redundant paperwork, cutting down on lag time and ensuring people aren’t kicked off their programs in light of new, more stringent requirements under the federal law known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
“With the new federal requirements, the last thing we should be doing is making it harder for people who qualify for assistance to maintain access to the programs they need,” added Speaker Coughlin.
Speaker Coughlin previously sponsored a bill that would make it easier for SNAP and Medicaid recipients to use volunteer hours to meet new, expanded work requirements. That bill was signed into law earlier this year.
This effort was established through A5658/S4903, introduced on October 19, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Why is New Jersey considering universal free school breakfast?
Childhood hunger can affect students' ability to concentrate, learn, and succeed in school. Universal free breakfast would help ensure students begin their school day with access to nutritious food while removing financial barriers, paperwork requirements, and the stigma sometimes associated with receiving free meals. Speaker Coughlin has introduced Assembly bill A5658 to provide all K-12 students with free breakfast in school.
2. Is school breakfast already free in New Jersey?
New Jersey currently participates in the federal free school breakfast and lunch programs, including for children from families earning up to 224% of the federal poverty level. However, not every student qualifies, and even some who do may face barriers to participating. The proposed legislation would make breakfast available to every public school student at no cost, removing income restrictions, simplifying access, and helping ensure more children start their day with a nutritious meal.
3. Who would qualify for free school breakfast under this New Jersey legislation?
Every student enrolled in a New Jersey K–12 school would qualify, regardless of household income or eligibility for federal meal assistance.
4. Would parents need to apply for free school breakfast?
Under the proposed program, families would not need to qualify based on household income for their children to receive free school breakfast. Every enrolled public school student would have access to breakfast at no cost.
5. How would universal free school breakfast help reduce childhood hunger?
Providing breakfast to every student would help children access a consistent morning meal, regardless of their family's financial circumstances. It would also eliminate income eligibility barriers and reduce the stigma that can prevent students from participating in school meal programs.
6. When would universal free school breakfast begin in New Jersey?
Universal free school breakfast is not yet a statewide requirement for all public school students. Assembly Bill A5658 has been introduced and must complete the legislative process and become law before the proposed requirement can take effect. The bill provides ample time for schools make preparations to offer free breakfast.
7. How much would it cost?
It’s estimated that universal free school in New Jersey would cost about $40 million annually, or less than 0.6% of the entire New Jersey State budget.
8. Do other states offer free school breakfast?
Several states have successfully implemented free school breakfast, including New Jersey’s neighboring states of New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
9. How does hunger affect a child's ability to learn?
Hunger can make it harder for children to concentrate, participate in classroom activities, and perform academically. Consistent access to nutritious meals supports students' health and readiness to learn. Providing breakfast at school can help children begin the day prepared to participate in their education.
10. What is New Jersey doing to address childhood hunger?
New Jersey has expanded eligibility for free school breakfast and lunch, implemented Summer EBT to help families access food when school is out, strengthened protections against meal shaming, and invested in emergency food assistance. Speaker Coughlin's universal free school breakfast proposal builds on these efforts to improve access to nutritious meals and reduce childhood hunger across the state.
11. How can I help make universal free school breakfast a reality in New Jersey?
Ending childhood hunger takes all of us. New Jersey residents can help by learning about the proposed universal free school breakfast legislation, sharing information with their communities, and contacting their state legislators to express their views. Families, educators, and community organizations can also help raise awareness about the importance of school meals and the barriers that prevent children from accessing them.
In the meantime, supporting local food banks and school-based food assistance programs can help families facing food insecurity today.