New Jersey
Case Study - 2022 Legislative Session
In 2022, we helped Hunger Free New Jersey raise its federal poverty level from 185% to 200%, ensuring that 25,000 more students would be eligible for free school meals at a cost of $19.4 million annually. This followed work with the organization in 2018 to pass Breakfast After the Bell legislation, which increased food access for more than 300,000 K-12 students, leveraging an additional $43 million of federal funding.
Grantee: Hunger Free New Jersey
Principal contacts: Lisa Pitz, Director and Mallie Romanowski, Communications Director
Lobbyists: Jon Bombardieri and Kyle England, CLB Partners
Communications: Karen Kessler, Kevin Israel, and Sean McLaughlin, Kessler PR
Campaign: Raise the FPL eligibility from 185% to 200% to include more K-12 children in the free school meals program
Budgetary impact: $19.4 million
Hunger impact: An additional 25,000 more K-12 public school children in NJ will receive free meals in the 2023-24 school year. This roughly includes children in a family of four in a household earning an annual income of up to $55,500
Solving Hunger spend: $114,000 (grantee + lobbying services + comms services). Does not include Tusk staff salaries.
Bill number: A 2368, Working-Class Families’ Anti-Hunger Act, S 1677, Working-Class Families’ Anti-Hunger Act
Outcome: Win
House vote: 75-3-1 05/26/22
Senate vote: 39-0 06/29/22
Governor’s action: Signed on 09/09/22
Press Highlights:
House passes:
Senate passes:
https://www.insidernj.com/press-release/bills-to-enhance-food-security-pass-senate/
Governor signs:
Bill signing video: https://youtu.be/yab15KjyJ8s
Summary: With the strong support of the powerful Speaker of the Assembly Rep. Craig Coughlin, New Jersey permanently increased the number of children who will receive free breakfast and lunch by 25,000 in the next school year, beginning in the fall of 2023. At a cost of $19.4 million in the first year, the state agreed to pay the cost of the eligibility for free meals from the federal 185% of the federal poverty level (fpl) to 200% of the fpl. New Jersey had previously passed legislation to eliminate the cost (to families) of reduced price meals, ensuring that all children up to 200% fpl would begin to receive free meals. There could have been no more important supporters than Speaker Coughlin, and the Governor, who had committed early in the campaign to signing a school meals bill if it got to his desk.
Background: Prior to the off-year statewide election in New Jersey in November 2021, there was great optimism from anti-poverty advocates, school organizations, and politicians that New Jersey could pass a universal school meals (USM) bill in the 2022 legislative session. Notably, both houses of the legislature were led by experienced politicians who had made hunger a key priority (Speaker Coughlin and then-Senate President Stephen Sweeney). President Joe Biden was in his first year of office, having defeated Donald Trump, who inspired an attack on the US Capitol on January 6th. Trump supporters, many of whom denied the results of the 2020 election were continuing to push a “socialism” message, but the New Jersey legislature was controlled by Democrats, and along with Democratic Governor Phil Murphy, they were planning to pursue an aggressive anti-poverty agenda.
Campaign planning: Tusk had worked with Hunger Free New Jersey in 2018, under the leadership of Adele LaTourette, to pass Breakfast After the Bell. We were comfortable with Adele’s talent and experience in the state, and with her ability to pivot once the election came along and shocked the political world. Long-time Senate President Sweeney lost his re-election bid to a truck driver who raised very little money in his first-time bid for office. The Governor, who was expected to sail into his second term -- as he was also assuming the helm of the Democratic Governor’s Association -- won with only 51.2% of the vote, and the outcome wasn’t determined until eight days after the election.
These stunning results, reinforced by the loss of Terry McAuliffe in Virginia for the open Governor’s race, cooled the ambitions of state leaders. The viability of universal school meals, while popular, was called into serious question, given the high cost. The message received by Democratic politicians in the high-tax state of New Jersey, was “slow down”.
Hunger Free New Jersey, and its assembled coalition rightly waited for cues from Speaker Coughlin. As the most high-profile, and well-positioned anti-hunger legislator in the state, it was up to him to determine what was possible for the 2022 session.
The Legislation: That question was answered in early February when Speaker Coughlin introduced a package of anti-poverty bills that led with a greater commitment to school meals. His package would, among other things, commit New Jersey to cover the cost of raising the federal poverty level (fpl) for eligibility for free school meals from 185% to 200%, adding 25,000 children at a cost of $19.4 million. Within days of introduction, our bill passed unanimously through the Assembly Agriculture & Food Security Committee.
We then waited weeks for the Office of Legislative Services to bless the Speaker’s bill, a required hurdle before advancing through the Senate.
Days later, Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz introduced S-1677, the "Working Class Families' Anti-Hunger Act”. The bill was eventually referred to the Senate Education Committee where we had support of Chairman Vin Gopal, with whom our team had been talking for months.
In the midst of this, Hunger Free’s Executive Director, Adele LaTourette, announced her departure from the organization. She was quickly replaced by long-time deputy Lisa Pitz, who like LaTourette, was very receptive to the advice provided by our excellent lobbyist, Jon Bombardieri.
Polling: Expanding school meals in New Jersey tested very well, as expected, and tracked with the support we found in four other states.
Building Awareness: This was an unusual campaign because we had assurances at the outset, from the highest levels, that support would be there for the bill. Building awareness in the public through paid media, to influence legislators, was not seen as necessary. Our founder personally helped build high-level awareness of the campaign with conversations with Senate President Scutari and Governor Murphy.
While our lobbyist made repeated contact with the Governor’s office, the Democratic leadership and committee chairs, he also worked with Republicans, like Steve Oroho, the Senate GOP leader, and John DiMaio, the Assembly Minority Leader. Both indicated that with a little bit of education from Jon, most members of their caucuses would be supportive.
While we spent no budget on paid media, our comms firm worked with HFNJ to draft social media about our bill, and they released a list of organizations that made up our coalition, including:
New Jersey YMCA Alliance
Advocates for Children of NJ (ACNJ)
New Jersey Parent Teacher Association (NJPTA)
NORWESCAP Food Bank
Zufall Health
Inspira Health Network
Anti-Poverty Network of New Jersey
New Jersey Citizen Action
Interfaith Food Pantry of Morris County
New Jersey Catholic Conference
HFNJ also produced a useful slidedeck: https://www.facebook.com/HungerFreeNJ/photos/5144627232289750
Recognizing The Moment: Every campaign stalls at some point, as unforeseen issues may have to be resolved. In this case, the NJSBA, other school groups, and a group representing municipalities began raising a concern that kept the OLS from issuing a score. The groups wanted to be supportive, but they were pointing out that expansion to 200% of fpl would include children in schools that don’t have adequate kitchens. Unless children in those schools were exempt, the bill would require schools to deliver meals that the schools were in no position to provide without additional funding to shore up their kitchens. We were in contact with the Speaker’s staff, who was waiting for language from the school orgs. After several weeks of stalemate, we offered to develop the language would resolve that matter.
Results: Once the kitchen was resolved, the bill passed unanimously out of Assembly Appropriations, with one Republican abstention, and then moved to the Assembly floor where it passed 75-3-1 in late May.
HJNJ press release (following House passage): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A1KY2_vCGyemL3p6HJT1j--8fGS_jR_6/edit
By July, the bill passed the Senate and was poised for the Governor’s signature. This finally happened two months later, in a formal bill-signing at a school in South Amboy on September 9th.
Lobbying: Jon Bombardieri and his associate, Kyle England, did a superb job for the campaign. They were collaborative, professional and responsive, and they represented the campaign very effectively.