Local elected officials, school officials and hunger-fighting advocates rallied together Thursday at Great Neck South Middle School to end student hunger and push forward a state bill that would provide free school meals for every student.

“There’s that perception that, especially here on the North Shore, that Long Island is wealthy,” state Assembly Member Gina Sillitti said at the rally. “But let me tell you, hunger knows no zip code.”

While the rally was intended to advocate for the student-centered bill, it was shrouded in controversy after Sillitti was accused of anti-Israel sentiments as she rallied alongside bill sponsor Assembly Member Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, who has been associated with an anti-Israel stance.

The Assembly proposed a bill, sponsored by Gonzalez-Rojas, last year that would provide free breakfast and lunch to all students at all public, charter and non-public schools that participate in the national school lunch program or school breakfast program. A similar bill is also proposed in the state Senate.

“It has been said time and again that budgets are moral documents and I can’t think of a better way for New York tax dollars to be spent than feeding children,” Sillitti said.

Gonzalez-Rojas, who represents parts of western Queens, also spoke at the rally Thursady advocating for the bill.

Gonzalez-Rojas has expressed support for both Israelis and Palestinians, as evident in a post on the media platform X she made saying that she mourns the “loss of Israeli & Palestinian civilian lives caused by decades of conflict & hope for a ceasefire & peace between the nations.”

A representative for Gonzalez-Rojas previously told the New York Post that the assembly member is not anti-Israel but rather anti-war and pro-ceasefire.

The comment was in response to a story about a pro-Israel PAC attacking New York candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, an organization that has called for the United States to stop supporting Israel. Gonzalez-Rojas’ representative also said the assembly member is not endorsed by the organization.

Sillitti made a statement saying that she may not see eye-to-eye with Gonzalez-Rojas on every issue but came together with her to push for universal free school meals.

“But when it comes to feeding hungry children, we agree,” Sillitti wrote.

Sillitti denounced Gonzalez-Rojas’s statements about Israel that she “vehemently disagrees with.” She apologized for any pain she may have caused the Great Neck community and expressed her “unwavering” support for Israel and the Jewish community.

“We stood today to call for the full funding of universal school meals for students across New York – an issue that has bipartisan support from voters across the state, including from the majority of residents on Long Island,” Sillitti wrote. “Twenty-six Republican Assemblymembers [sic] also support this cause and are co-sponsors of universal school meals because feeding hungry children should not be a controversial issue.”

Great Neck Teachers Association President and South High English teacher Jim Daszenski advocated for the bill, saying that when students are hungry, they are less likely to come to school and their concentration and ability to learn is inhibited.

Liz Accles, executive director of Community Food Advocates, represented the Healthy School Meals for All New York Kids Coalition at the rally. Her organization is one of the 290 others a part of the coalition.

Accles said more than 145,000 students on Long Island do not have access to free school meals, the largest number of students from any region in the state.

Accles and Sillitti said that what increases barriers to free school meals are the stigma of applying for financial assistance and the burden of going through the process.

“This is especially true in schools that are perceived as wealthy,” Sillitti said.

Great Neck Superintendent Kenneth Bossert said there are discrepancies between the Great Neck Public Schools community’s perceived wealth and the reality for many of its students and families.

“[Great Neck is] a district that may not come to mind when one thinks of students with nutritional needs and financial challenges within their households, but we are certainly that,” Bossert said.

Bossert said one in five Great Neck students qualify for free and reduced lunch but that he estimates the need to be greater than that. He said he is “painfully aware” that for some students, the meals they receive at school are the only ones they receive for that day.

“We care about the whole child,” Bossert said. “We care to make sure that all their needs are met, and certainly making sure that a balance in nutritional meals is at the top of that list.”

Accles said there are also gaps between those who are eligible for free meals and those who need it yet do not qualify. She said a family of four with an annual income of $58,00 does not qualify for free meals yet Long Island families are estimated needing an income of $76,000 to meet basic needs.

“It’s time for New York to close the gap,” Accles said. “Healthy school meals for all is a common-sense policy that would make New York more affordable for all families, especially in high-cost living areas like Long Island.”