Key Takeaways
A record 55,362 schools offered free breakfast and lunch to all students through the Community Eligibility Provision in the 2025-2026 school year, FRAC reported July 22.
27.6 million children attended a Community Eligibility school, 386,019 more than the year before.
FRAC warns that 2025's SNAP cuts under H.R. 1 could push eligible schools out of the program by shrinking direct certification.
A record 55,362 schools offered free breakfast and lunch to all their students during the 2025-2026 school year, according to a report the Food Research and Action Center released on July 22.
The program behind the number is the Community Eligibility Provision, a federal option that lets high-poverty schools serve every student at no charge without collecting individual meal applications. This year 27.6 million children attended a CEP school, 386,019 more than the previous year. Even so, inadequate federal reimbursement still keeps many eligible schools from adopting it, FRAC said.
FRAC president Crystal FitzSimons said "offering healthy school meals to every student at no charge is a game changer," pointing to lower hunger, less stigma, and the end of school meal debt.
The gains sit on shaky ground. Schools directly certify children who receive SNAP for free meals, and that certification helps decide whether a school qualifies for community eligibility and how much federal money it gets. The 2025 budget law known as H.R. 1 cut SNAP sharply, and as enrollment falls, fewer children are automatically certified, which can push schools out of the program or make it too costly to keep.
FRAC is urging Congress to reverse the SNAP cuts and pass a national Healthy School Meals for All policy.
The pattern here is hard to ignore. The same cuts driving record demand at food banks are now reaching into the school cafeteria, the through-line WYDE has tracked from Feeding America's SNAP campaign as enrollment fell by 4 million to hunger turning up in psychiatric wards. Worth watching.
People Also Ask
What is the Community Eligibility Provision?
It is a federal option that lets high-poverty schools and districts offer free breakfast and lunch to every student, without collecting individual meal applications.
How many schools use community eligibility?
A record 55,362 schools used it in the 2025-2026 school year, reaching 27.6 million children, according to FRAC's July 2026 report.
How do SNAP cuts affect free school meals?
Schools directly certify SNAP recipients for free meals, so as SNAP enrollment falls under H.R. 1, fewer children are certified and some schools may lose community eligibility or find it unaffordable.
What is Healthy School Meals for All?
It is a policy push, backed by FRAC, to guarantee free breakfast and lunch to every student nationwide regardless of family income.
Sources: Food Research and Action Center (FRAC).