As congressional Republicans look for ways to cut spending to fund President Donald Trump’s legislative initiatives, free meals for many school children could be on the chopping block.
The House Ways and Means Committee included a program that feeds students in high-need school districts on a list of potential cuts that was obtained by Politico.
The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) gives free breakfast and lunch to all students in school districts with a certain percentage of families that are part of poverty-focused federal programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. That percentage is currently set at 25%, but the congressional committee proposed raising it to 60%.
The committee says a change of that size would save the federal government $3 billion dollars, but it would leave an estimated 12 million students cut out of the program, according to the Food Research and Action Center. That includes more than 900,000 students in the Midwest and Great Plains.
“This would have a ripple effect throughout the entire school and larger community,” said FRAC policy analyst Erin Hysom. “By decreasing children's access to healthy school meals, you are hindering their ability to learn and succeed throughout the rest of their life.”
Participation in the program has increased in recent years after the U.S. Department of Agriculture lowered the eligibility threshold from 40% to 25% in October 2023.Since the CEP program started 10 years ago, participation has grown from about 14,000 schools to almost 48,000 schools, and it now covers half of all schools that are part of the National School Lunch Program, according to FRAC, which advocates for expansion of federal nutrition assistance programs.
School districts that could potentially lose eligibility are speaking out in defense of the program, including Kevin Carl, the superintendent of Hancock Place School District in suburban St. Louis. The district has offered free breakfast and lunch to all of its students since 2014. But at just over 50% eligibility, the proposed cut would shut the district out.
“The CEP program is really a strong and beneficial program,” Carl said. “For those that are looking at maybe making a reduction, I would ask that they not look here.”
Districts that participate in CEP say there are multiple benefits for their students and staff. The largest, Carl said, is the increased learning that comes when students are not hungry.
“When students are fed and they're healthy and they're well, then they're going to be best positioned to be successful with their academics and really do well at school and thrive,” he said.
District officials also say the program reduces stigma because it no longer singles out the poorest children for free meals.
At Fargo Public Schools in North Dakota, the program has also led to calmer classrooms, said Director of Nutrition Services Cindy Hogenson.
“Our teachers have reported that behavior issues are down,” Hogenson said. “Students are less likely to get agitated because they're not hungry. They are concentrating better.”
Schools also see administrative benefits, Hogenson said. The North Dakota district has three elementary schools that serve free meals to all students through CEP.
“It's helpful for the school building, because they are not trying to contact parents, getting them to complete the paperwork, collecting them, those sorts of things,” Hogenson said. “So it's a great benefit that way.”
In Nebraska, North Platte Public Schools has been continuously expanding the number of schools that participate in CEP. Executive Director of Finance Stuart Simpson said lawmakers should consider how a change might affect students.
“We're continually working to get better test scores, and so we want to say, no matter what, don't jeopardize us by reducing something that may help us in the long run,” Simpson said. “Look at other ways of trying to help, trying to reduce spending in other areas, not including hurting students.”
During the pandemic, a federal policy made school meals free for all students across the country. It ended in the 2022-2023 school year, leading to soaring meal debt and fewer kids eating school meals across the country. In the years since, some states have implemented universal free lunch programs, including Michigan and Minnesota in the Midwest. Illinois’ legislature passed a similar measure in 2023, but it is not yet in place.
“There is a lot of activity across the country to increase students' access to nutritious school meals, and I don't see that stopping anytime soon,” Hysom said. “I think as more communities experience the benefit of school meals, more communities will advocate to make sure that all of their children can reap those benefits.”
The cut to the Community Eligibility Provision was on a menu of potential cuts for an upcoming budget reconciliation bill. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he wants to have a reconciliation bill on President Trump’s desk by April.
This story was produced in partnership with Harvest Public Media, a collaboration of public media newsrooms in the Midwest. It reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues.
St. Louis Public Radio’s Will Bauer contributed to this report.
