NYC's free summer meal program offers halal food, without listing kosher options
The city Department of Education's summer meal program for NYC youths boasts a variety of halal options at more than 25 locations citywide, but kosher food 'must be specially ordered,' officials told The Post.
Free breakfasts and lunches will be served at hundreds of locations – schools, pools, libraries and parks – for anyone up to 18 years old, including all students from both public and private schools.
'You don't need to sign up, show any papers, or have an ID to get these meals,' the DOE says. 'Just head to one of our spots and enjoy a delicious breakfast and lunch.'
Halal food – permissible for Muslims to eat under Islamic law – is available for the taking by anyone who shows up at the listed locations.
Kosher food, for observant Jewish kids, is not mentioned on the DOE website.
4 DOE food worker Maria Gonzalez said she gave out 100 meals from a food truck in Haffen Park in the Bronx on the first day of the free summer meal program Friday.
J.C. Rice
Only when asked by The Post, the DOE said kosher meals 'must be specially ordered, and they are only available upon request. However we do not currently have any applications for kosher meals.'
The glaring omission angered some Jewish advocates.
'The DOE's clear promotion of halal options alongside silence on kosher meals highlights a gap that needs urgent attention,'' said Karen Feldman, a DOE teacher and co-founder of the NYCPS Alliance, which fights antisemitism in the city public schools.
'Jewish families who keep kosher deserve the same outreach to feel fully included in this important program.'
4 A DOE food truck gave out free summer breakfasts and lunches to youths in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.
J.C. Rice
A similar controversy erupted in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when the City Council's Jewish Caucus demanded that Mayor De Blasio's DOE include kosher meals along with vegetarian and halal food for Muslims in its free meal program.
The DOE does not track students by religion, but an estimated 10 percent of NYC public-school students, roughly 100,000, are Muslim.
The number of Jewish kids in NYC public schools is unclear, but 105,776 K-12 students enrolled in private Jewish schools in 2024-2025, said Gabriel Aaronson, director of policy and research for the non-profit advocacy group Teach Coalition.
Poverty and hunger plague many NYC Jews, among other groups. The Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, which serves more than 325,000 clients, says it provides emergency food that meets the cultural and religious dietary needs of both kosher and halal-observant households.
4 Karen Feldman, a DOE teacher and co-founder of a group fighting antisemitism in public schools, faulted the city's free summer meal program's failure to list kosher meals for Jewish kids.
Gregory P. Mango
The DOE's summer menus offer a variety of halal options it says meet Islamic guidelines. For instance, a breakfast of egg and cheese on a buttermilk biscuit, home fries, and fresh fruit; and a lunch of chicken tenders with dipping sauce, garlic knot and corn.
Other halal breakfasts include waffles, zucchini and banana bread, whole-grain bagels and buttermilk pancakes. Lunches feature pizza, mozzarella sticks, beef patties, falafel, chicken sandwiches, veggie burgers and empanadas.
Kosher foods meet Jewish dietary laws, including restrictions on certain animals like pork and shellfish, separation of meat and dairy, and specific slaughtering and preparation methods. If ordered, the DOE said, a kosher breakfast would include a muffin, granola or cereal, plus yogurt, an apple, and milk. A lunch would consist of hummus, tuna or egg salad, whole wheat bread, grape tomatoes, apple and milk.
4 The DOE posted July summer meals with multiple halal options, but none for kosher food, angering some Jewish advocates.
DOE
Last week, the DOE would not detail its preparation or purchase of halal and kosher foods.
'We are thrilled that our summer meals program is returning this year, making sure that our youngest New Yorkers are fed and nourished,'said DOE spokeswoman Jenna Lyle.
Funding for the summer meal program comes out of the DOE's yearly $600 million budget for all school food.
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