November 1, 2010

COUNTY EXECUTIVE MANGANO ANNOUNCES NASSAU’S PARTICIPATION
IN THE NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM

Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano is pleased to announce that the New York State Education Department (NYSED) has authorized Nassau County to participate in the National School Lunch Program Direct Certification Process.  “In an effort to ensure that all eligible children benefit from the National School Lunch Program, Nassau County welcomes all 56 school districts to participate,” stated County Executive Mangano.  “We applaud NYSED for developing a system to identify eligible participants, as well as increase the number of children participating in the free school lunch program.  It is a win-win for the youth and families throughout Nassau County.” 

Using information provided by NYSED, each school district can certify children that are eligible for free meals for the entire school year.  “This is a wonderful opportunity for children to receive nutritional meals on a daily basis,” stated Social Services Commissioner John E. Imhof.  “The Direct Certification Process is relatively simple and we urge the school districts of Nassau County to participate in this worthwhile program.”

The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program operating in over 101,000 public and non-profit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provided nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to more than 31 million children each school day in 2009.

The Nassau County Department of Social Services looks forward to working with the school districts throughout the County.  For further information, please contact Carl DeHaney at (516) 227-7406.