Nonkosher school fury

Jewish groups see free-lunch ‘bias’

MAYOR DE BLASIO’S free school lunch plan isn’t kosher — and that’s left many in the city’s Jewish community bellyaching about a program they want their kids to receive.

De Blasio rolled out the federally funded program on Sept. 6, promising free meals for all city students. But Jewish advocates say 30,000 students in yeshivas aren’t getting the free meals because none of the food is certified kosher.

“The mayor is openly discriminating against students in nonpublic and religious schools,” said Allen Fagin, CEO of the Orthodox Union, a Jewish nonprofit group based in Manhattan.

“He is failing children in classrooms across his city,” Fagin added.

City schools do offer vegetarian meals, which may satisfy some kosher and halal food requirements. But Jewish and Muslim leaders say those meals still fall short because they haven’t been certified by a religious authority.

Education Department spokeswoman Toya Holness wouldn’t say if the city will add kosher options to school meal plans.

“We welcome all nonpublic schools interested in participating in our program,” Holness said.

When the “Free School Lunch for All” plan was unveiled, de Blasio said it would “ensure that every kid in New York City has the fuel they need to succeed.”

In the last school year, 75% of the city’s more than 1 million public school students were eligible for free lunch. City officials say the expanded program provides more than 200,000 additional students with midday meals.

The program also is offered to private schools in the city, and the Education Department said 115 are participating.

But more than 200 Jewish schools are shut out due to the kosher requirement, said Maury Litwack, director of Teach NYS, the education advocacy arm of the Orthodox Union.

He called the situation unjust and unfair.

“If the mayor claims a program is universal, it should be for every single student, regardless of where they go to school,” Litwack said. “But the reality is far from the mayor’s promise.” The Orthodox Union and other Jewish nonprofits are planning an ad campaign to push their free-lunch cause. Organizers declined to disclose the size of the ad buy, which will target the city’s Jewish community with messages in print and online. State Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Queens) introduced legislation in September to require public schools to offer meals that meet students’ religious dietary rules. Administrators estimate 38% of students in the city’s public schools are Jewish or Muslim.