F-M High students urge district to join free meal program

Students and parents at Fayetteville-Manlius High School are pressing district leaders to join New York’s free breakfast and lunch program for high schoolers, arguing that the state already pays for the meals and families should not have to shoulder the bill. At F-M High, full-price students still pay $3.00 for breakfast and $4.25 for lunch, even as elementary and middle school students in the district already receive both meals at no cost.

The debate has sharpened around a basic policy gap: New York’s universal free meals law takes effect beginning with the 2025-2026 school year for schools participating in the federal breakfast and lunch programs, and state officials say the rollout is meant to save families an estimated $165 per child each month. But Fayetteville-Manlius High School remains outside that participation at the secondary level, leaving high school families to decide whether to pay, pack, or go without.

Junior Elliott Olech argued that the district is one of the few in New York still denying students access to a program designed to help families. Maura Ackerman, executive director of the Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance, backed the effort and helped circulate an open-ended student survey. One response described a family that sometimes cannot afford to send a child with a good-sized lunch, a reminder that the issue reaches beyond convenience and into food insecurity, stigma, and missed meals during the school day.

District leaders said they are weighing the financial and operational implications of joining the program. Magda Parvey, the new superintendent, said the district is reviewing the potential benefits, requirements, number of students who would gain access, and whether the change fits F-M’s goals for student wellness and sustainability. Parvey was appointed by the Fayetteville-Manlius Board of Education and was expected to begin in spring 2026 after more than 20 years in educational leadership.

Former superintendent Craig Tice said the district previously opted out because it wanted a wider variety of meal options at the high school. Ackerman countered that schools can still build a creative menu while meeting federal nutrition standards. The issue gained more political weight when Onondaga County Legislator Elaine Denton, who represents District 10, voiced support at a board meeting and said family costs keep rising while public dollars should benefit local students. As F-M reviews its next steps, the decision will show whether the district intends to keep high school meals behind a paywall or join the growing number of schools working to remove that barrier entirely.