The National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs (NSLP/SBP) fuel academic achievement, support millions of America’s working families burdened by high food prices and inflation, and provide a crucial market for U.S. grown foods. Research shows school meals are the healthiest meals America’s children eat, making these programs a critical asset in chronic disease prevention. To ensure the financial sustainability of school meal programs, the School Nutrition Association (SNA) urges Congress to:
Increase NSLP/SBP reimbursement rates by 40 cents per lunch and 15 cents per breakfast
School meals must meet calorie, sodium and fat limits and offer students fruits, vegetables, milk and entrees made with lean proteins and whole grains. Healthy meals cost more to prepare – NSLP/SBP funding must cover the added expense of meeting nutrition standards and other complex regulatory requirements.
In a recent SNA survey, virtually all meal program directors cited challenges with the cost of food (97.9%), labor (94.9%) and equipment (91.4%). Only 20.5% reported the federal reimbursement rate is sufficient to cover the cost of producing a lunch. As a result, 92.1% expressed concern about their program’s financial sustainability three years from now.
When asked about resources necessary to comply with forthcoming limits on added sugar and sodium, 96.8% of directors indicated their programs require increased funding, with 69.5% citing an “extreme need” for more funds. Congress must raise reimbursements to help schools cover costs and invest in staff and equipment needed to expand scratch cooking and meet new standards. Learn more
Protect Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and expand access to healthy school meals for all students
School meals are a smart investment in the health and future of America’s children. These meals are proven to support obesity prevention, student health and academic achievement by improving children’s diets and combatting hunger. In schools that offer free meals to all students through CEP, all children are nourished for success, students face less stigma, and schools have less paperwork and administrative burden.
School districts that must charge for meals confront a wide range of consequences: 89.3% report challenges with families in need not receiving free or reduced-price meals, and 73.5% cite that students are going hungry or choosing not to eat. Congress should ensure every student has access to free, nutritious school meals as part of their education. SNA supports federal and state proposals to advance this goal, including increasing the CEP multiplier, eliminating the reduced-price category and raising the free meal eligibility threshold. Learn more
Address unpaid school meal debt
Free and reduced-price meal applications only collect income data, so families burdened by high health care costs, rent increases or emergency expenses often fail to qualify for assistance. When families cannot pay, meal debt rapidly accumulates, forcing many cash-strapped school districts to divert education funds to cover meal program losses.
In SNA’s survey, 96.8% of school districts that must charge for meals reported challenges with unpaid meal debt, with over two-thirds citing meal debt as a “significant challenge.” Alarmingly, the amount of debt is climbing. The median reported district debt as of November 2024 was $6,900, which is 25.6% higher than the year prior and 102.9% higher than the median debt reported at the end of School Year 2017-18. Congress must assist schools and families burdened by school meal debt. Learn more

Category
Resource Type
Year Added
2025