Global Courant
WASHINGTON — Millions more students at schools serving low-income communities will qualify for free breakfast and lunch under a rule change announced Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In schools where 25% of families participate in income-based public benefits, such as the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, the federal government will now cover the cost of free meals for all enrolled students. Previously, the qualification threshold was 40%.
About 3,000 additional school districts serving more than 5 million students will now be eligible, officials said.
“While there is more work ahead to ensure that every K-12 student in the country has access to healthy school meals at no cost, this is an important step toward that goal,” said Stacy Dean, USDA Assistant Secretary for Food. , Food and Consumer Services.
During the pandemic, Congress temporarily made universal meals available for free to all students, but that ended last year. Other federal programs that provided direct food assistance to families were also scaled back due to rising food prices, straining family budgets and leaving some children hungry.
Meanwhile, eight states — California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico and Vermont — have made school meals free for all students, regardless of income.
The new rule will expand access to universal meals through a program known as the Community Eligibility Provision, or CEP. Instead of requiring families to fill out individual applications for free or reduced-price meals, schools participating in the program receive federal funding based on income data, with local or state money covering any gaps in the cost of providing meals to fills all students. Advocates say reducing administrative burdens, such as applications, will ensure children don’t go hungry.
Some have criticized the cost of the program. The Republican Study Committee has called for the complete elimination of the CEP, arguing that it ignores the individual earnings of each student.
Nationally, expanding a community model of universal meals would ease the burden on many families, says Anna Korsen, policy and program director at Full Plates Full Potential, a Maine nonprofit that works to maximize access to school meals.
“The federal poverty guidelines that determine who gets a free meal and who doesn’t are really outdated,” Korsen said. “There are so many families who on paper don’t qualify for a free meal, and they can be lumped in with this group of … families who can afford to pay for lunch or breakfast at school. But in reality, these families are living paycheck to paycheck.”
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the rule change is a step toward delivering on the promise of healthy school meals for all.
“Increasing access to free, healthy school breakfast and lunch will reduce childhood hunger, improve child health and student readiness, and put our nation on a path to better nutrition and well-being,” he said.
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The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
