Recent changes tightening eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid could leave hundreds of thousands of families without benefits. As a result, the School Nutrition Association warns, many children could lose automatic access to free school meals.
Families can still apply for meal assistance on their own, but advocates say many may have difficulty completing paperwork in time. The deadlines and documentation can be especially challenging for households already under financial stress.
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"It hurts the whole program because one of the things that we've seen really helps school lunch programs is having a lot of students participate, because when you know you'll be providing a lot of lunches, you have economies of scale in terms of your purchasing," said Dr. Marlene Schwartz, director of the Rudd Center at the University of Connecticut.
The average cost of a school lunch is $3.09 per student. That can add up to $446 to $662 per child over a full school year. If fewer students qualify for free meals, schools receive less federal reimbursement, making it harder to cover costs for all children.
"There are a lot of studies showing that children who are well nourished are able to focus in school are able to be successful in school and so when you cut programs or reduce access to things like school breakfast and school lunch, you're definitely increasing the students who are not gonna be able to access a balanced meal," Schwartz said.
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For many children, school lunch may be the most reliable meal of the day, especially in families living paycheck to paycheck. Kevin Hardy, a writer researching this issue, noted that rising costs are hitting school cafeterias just like households.
"If you just think about how expensive it is to go to the grocery store or out to eat for an average family, schools face those same pressures," he said. "They are paying more for people to prepare the food they are paying more to get that food in."
Hardy says when students miss out on school meals, the burden often shifts to food banks and community groups already struggling to meet demand. Schwartz adds that with less funding, schools may turn to cheaper, processed foods, which can reduce meal quality and weaken demand for fresh, local produce. That can make it harder for farmers to compete and maintain affordable prices.
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