Sweepstakes Encourage Parents to Apply for School Lunches

Epoch Times
By: Jonathan Weeks

NEW YORK— Parents can now apply for discounted or free school lunches online and automatically enter a sweepstakes. The Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, Deputy Mayors, and the New York Jets held a press conference Tuesday to announce the sweepstakes and unveil an improved school meal application system.

For the first time, Access NYC enables families to apply online for free and low cost school lunches. Access NYC simplifies the application process by permitting parents to apply for all of their children with one application, even if they attend different schools. The website can also be used to pre-screen for human services benefits offered by more than 35 different City, State, and Federal programs.

“School food has done a wonderful job of giving students healthy options that taste good” said Wallace Wright, star wide receiver for the Jets. “The food is not very different from what professional athletes eat every day.” “I start out with a strawberry-banana shake, eggs, and cereal then the team gets sandwiches for lunch” Wright said.

Completion of the simple application, online or on paper, will automatically enter a family in the sweepstakes. The winning family receives a NY Jets sponsored trip to the NFL Pro Bowl in Hawaii in 2009. The sweepstakes is part of the Department of Education’s “Feed Your Head” campaign to encourage children and their families to eat healthier and be more active.

“School meals are the best deal in town and I encourage parents to take advantage of the deal” said Kate Houston, Deputy Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services.

“The school menu items are more nutritious than ever before” said Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, “The schools give students a choice of fresh fruit every day and the menus have been reformulated to reduce salt and sugar and eliminate trans fats.”

It is important that participating families fill out their paperwork, because completed forms are the only means the Federal government has to accurately judge the use of funds. The Federal uses this information to determine how much reimbursement levels to the city each year so that the program can continue.

This is the fourth year the Jets have donated a trip to the Pro Bowl. “This has been, and I think will continue to be a successful program” stated Jesse Linder, the Jet’s Community Relations Director. “We are encouraging kids and families to fill out their forms and benefit from reduced pricing on school meals.”