Back to School — Without Food

Cuts to the nation’s largest food assistance program will likely spill over into schools, causing students to lose access to free breakfast and lunch.

More than 1 million American children have lost access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, following a recent federal law. Now, as schools gear up for a new term, a portion of those children could be at risk of losing free meals — viewed as crucial supports for both childhood hunger and classroom learning.  

But the changes in cafeterias could even affect families who have never participated in the federal food stamp program.

Many students who receive free school meals automatically qualify because of their household participation in SNAP or Medicaid. So a reduction in those social service programs can directly threaten their eligibility for free school meals.

And many schools offer free meals to all students. Those schools qualify for federal funding that is tied to rates of SNAP participation. The complicated federal funding formula means even a slight change in SNAP enrollment could jeopardize free meal funding for entire schools and districts. 

“Cuts to SNAP are not going to stop at the grocery store,” said Clarissa Hayes, deputy director of child nutrition programs and policy at the Food Research & Action Center, a nonprofit working to combat hunger. “They really are going to threaten children’s access to school meals, which is obviously going to increase hunger at home and in the classroom, and is going to have that negative ripple effect across children’s health and academic performance.”

The threat to school meals comes during a period of upheaval for federal safety net programs and growing hunger across the country amid rising grocery prices. Last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act implemented new eligibility and work requirements for SNAP while pushing new costs onto states. Already, millions have lost food stamps, but the threats to schools are just coming into focus.

“We are really only starting to see the beginning,” Hayes said.

The free school meal program allows previously qualified students to remain enrolled over a 30-day grace period. And some students who lost SNAP coverage may still qualify for free meals at school if their families submit certain paperwork. 

Many low-income families are struggling to keep their kids fed, according to a recent survey from the nonprofit No Kid Hungry. In that survey, parents said back-to-school season creates impossible choices: More than two-thirds worried they would have to choose between paying bills or buying healthy food for their kids. Already, more than half reported cutting back on groceries given the high prices. 

More than a quarter of the nation’s public schools currently offer universal free meals. Aside from the obvious financial benefit to families, those schools have reduced the stigma of free lunch and improved efficiency in the lunch line and the office since no one is paying up front for meals or working to track down unpaid meal debt, said Carolyn Vega, senior program manager at No Kid Hungry.

But federal changes could halt the important progress made in expanding universal access.

“Then all kids at all incomes would suffer,” Vega said.

Importance of school meals

For Tennessee parent Anthony Bonner, this year’s first day of school delivered instant relief. It meant that his 14-year-old son was ensured a free breakfast and lunch every weekday, leaving them to worry only about dinner each night.

“School starting has definitely alleviated some of that stress, that worry and that concern,” said Bonner, a 38-year-old campaign organizer and barber in Memphis.

School meals are more important than ever since the pair lost their $250 monthly SNAP benefit in March. Bonner said he lost his eligibility because of federal changes that ended the work requirement exemption for parents of children 14 and over. He is currently working a contract job that doesn’t satisfy federal work requirements.

It’s caused him to cut back on fresh proteins and produce, opting instead for cheaper frozen veggies and packaged foods like ramen packets.

“It’s one thing to cut me off, but I should have been able to get benefits for him,” he said. “I still have yet to really have enough food that I feel comfortable that me and my son can eat for the month.”

For now, his son’s breakfast and lunch will continue since his entire school receives free meals. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Community Eligibility Provision reimburses schools for a portion of breakfasts and lunches using a formula based on the percentage of students that qualify for SNAP and other means-tested programs. 

Kids attending schools in the highest poverty areas will likely maintain eligibility for free meals for now, said Diane Pratt-Heavner, spokesperson for the School Nutrition Association, which represents 50,000 school meal providers across the country.

But schools with more mixed economic levels could lose free meal eligibility as participation in SNAP declines.

This summer, Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida announced it would no longer offer free meals at all of its 500-plus schools because of changes to its federal reimbursement rules. Florida’s largest school system still has universal free meals in 121 schools, but children at the remaining schools must now individually apply for free meals.

This fall, Central Kentucky’s Marion County Public Schools remain in a holding pattern, said Jennifer Wheeler, school nutrition director. The school system currently offers free meals for all, but future funding may be at risk with fewer student receiving SNAP benefits.

Under its current four-year certification, the school system receives the maximum federal reimbursement for about 93% of its students. But Wheeler said current SNAP enrollment means the school system would receive the full reimbursement for about 75% of its students.

“Which then is a huge financial impact on our program,” she said.

Like many school meal programs, Marion County’s is self-funded, meaning it doesn’t receive local tax revenue to feed its 3,000 students across seven schools. Rather, federal meal reimbursements must cover the costs of food, labor and kitchen equipment.

Wheeler said rising grocery prices have already stretched many families in her community. As evidence, she pointed to the school summer feeding program, which last year handed out about 134,000 prepackaged meals. This summer, the same program with the same offerings and logistics gave out more than 201,000 meals.

“When people would come through the lines, they would talk about grocery costs,” she said. “They would talk about gas costs. So inflation, I think, is the No. 1 driver.”

Changing federal landscape

When Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Republicans who supported food stamp cuts downplayed their impact. Many, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the changes would help cut waste and fraud from the safety net program.

Between May 2025 and May 2026, more than 5.6 million people lost SNAP coverage, according to the latest federal data. 

That 13.5% one-year decline was a much faster drop in coverage than was originally anticipated by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that analyzed last year’s legislation.

The latest federal data showed about 36.6 million people received SNAP benefits in May with an average monthly benefit of about $187 per person.

SNAP benefits are expected to shrink more as the law is fully implemented — raising fears that some states could drop out of the program entirely as the federal government requires states to spend billions on administrative costs and benefits. 

The White House did not respond to Stateline’s questions about how the SNAP changes will impact school meals. Neither did a spokesperson for the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee that oversees SNAP and school meal programs.

Currently, nine states provide free meals for all students: California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York and Vermont. Experts say students in those states, which rely on a mix of state and federal funding, should be shielded from the SNAP fallout for now. 

But even states where lawmakers have specifically funded school meals could see major financial upheaval. 

In Maine, for example, the state spends $64 million per year to supplement federal meal reimbursements. But federal funds are based on how many low-income families schools serve. And those calculations will likely change as more children lose food stamps.

Already, more than 15,000 Mainers have lost SNAP coverage since last July, according to the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 

The changing landscape could force the state to spend much more to supplement school meals, the Maine Morning Star reported.

“Free meals for all was already a big ask when it first went into law, and that was when the federal government was giving more money,” Allison Leavitt, nutrition director of the Lisbon School Department and president of the Maine School Nutrition Association, told the Morning Star. “Now the feds are giving less money and it’s like, how do we do this?”