Hungry No More: Why Greater Access to No-Cost School Meals for K-12 Students Makes Sense

It can be difficult concentrating on tasks that require a high level of mental focus when you are hungry. Like any other part of your body, your brain needs energy from food to perform at its best. This is especially true when it comes to how well students learn. Yet, hunger continues to be an issue that children from food insecure households face all too often. The results of a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) food security survey shows that 8.9 percent or 3.2 million U.S. households with children experienced some form of food insecurity at various times in 2023. This means that approximately 13.8 million children living in those households went through periods during which they had no access to an adequate, nutritious food supply—something that all children need to develop and thrive. Put simply, these children went hungry. When a child is hungry, their attention is not directed to learning. That child is distracted because their stomach is empty. The presence of hunger in K-12 schools poses a serious barrier to student learning and can negatively impact a child’s physical and mental health as well as their general well-being.

An increased awareness of this problem has given rise to a movement at the state level aimed at persuading policymakers to establish universal free school breakfast and lunch programs for K-12 students. The “Healthy School Meal for All” initiative has caused a growing number of states across the country to adopt policies allowing for school meals to be provided to K-12 students at no cost, regardless of family income. At the federal level, various programs have been established to eliminate hunger in schools. One of these is the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), a program that allows schools and school districts in high poverty areas to provide free breakfast and lunch to all enrolled students without requiring individual household applications to determine eligibility for these meals. The CEP was created by the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 and is administered by the USDA. Seth Hunter, associate professor of Education Leadership within the School of Education and Senior Fellow in the EdPolicyForward center at George Mason University, recently discussed the CEP and the role it plays in addressing the issue of hunger in schools.

CEP Eligibility

To be eligible to participate in the CEP program, a school or school district must meet or exceed a minimum percentage of students who participate in federal benefits programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. This minimum percentage was previously set at 40 percent but was recently reduced to 25 percent through a rulemaking finalized in October 2023. This change was adopted to increase the number of schools and school districts that would be eligible to participate in the CEP, increasing student access to free school breakfasts and lunches.

Federal reimbursements may not cover the school’s entire cost of CEP operations.

One aspect of the program that has been the subject of debate relates to the level at which the federal government reimburses schools or school districts for the operational costs of providing free school meals to students. If these costs exceed the amount reimbursed by the federal government, a school or school district must cover the difference using non-federal funds. For small school districts with limited budgets, paying for these costs on their own using their allotment of local funds could be a challenge.

In Virginia, this issue prompted a debate in the 2024 session of the state legislature on whether school meals should be made available to all students at no cost. A bill was introduced that would have required all eligible schools in the state to participate in the CEP. The measure also would have required all schools, regardless of CEP participation, to make breakfast and lunch available at no cost to any student. In its other provisions, the legislation would have mandated that Virginia “reimburse school divisions for each meal served based on the difference between the amount paid by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the free rate set by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture annually for each school.” Some opponents of the bill objected to the concept of using general state funds to pay for free school meals in every school district, especially those located in high-income areas. While the measure failed to become law, the debate was successful in directing public attention to the issue of establishing a no-cost universal school meals program for K-12 students.

Advocates emphasize the benefits of providing free school breakfasts and lunches.

Proponents of USDA’s CEP program emphasize its benefits, one of which is removal of the stigma that children can feel when they are singled out in school cafeteria lines to receive free or reduced-price meals. Research suggests that CEP participation provides other benefits including improved student academic performance, a lower incidence of behavioral problems, and a higher rate of on-time grade promotions. The CEP program also eliminates the risk that a student from a low- or moderate-income household will accrue significant school lunch debt, a problem that can be further exacerbated by today’s high rate of inflation and increased food costs that affect the pricing of school lunches and breakfasts. It is important to note that the problem of school lunch debt is not limited to areas with high rates of poverty but can exist in affluent areas, such as Northern Virginia’s Fairfax County, as this story demonstrates.

Investing in Students Through the CEP

Advocates for an expansion of the CEP in Virginia and elsewhere maintain that the costs of supporting school participation in this program should not be viewed simply as an expense item on the balance sheet. Rather, it should be thought of as making a long-term investment in students that will generate a significant and lasting return for years to come. Some calculations suggest that for every dollar invested in the CEP program, a long-term return of $1.20 to $1.40 per student could be realized. When hunger in schools is eliminated, students will have better academic outcomes and will develop the necessary skills and knowledge necessary to build successful futures.

However, as the budget reconciliation process in the U.S. Congress advances, proponents of the CEP are concerned that potential funding cuts could significantly reduce the number of schools that are eligible to participate in this program. A state-by-state analysis shows how a reduction in funding could curtail access to free school breakfasts and lunches that many K-12 students from low-income households throughout the country now enjoy.

To learn more about how educational policies can affect students, please visit the website of EdPolicyForward. The center is staffed by faculty from the Education Leadership and Education Policy Programs within the School of Education. For more information on degree offerings in these disciplines, please visit the program websites.