In the 2025-2026 school year, 55,362 US schools serving 27.6 million children offered breakfast and lunch at no charge to every student through the Community Eligibility Provision, nearly four times the 14,184 schools of 2014-2015 (FRAC, Community Eligibility: The Key to Hunger-Free Schools, July 2026). Nine states now go further and fund free meals in every school by law, and about 60% of National School Lunch Program schools served all students free in 2023-2024. Yet growth is stalling: the 1.4% rise in CEP enrollment this year was the smallest since nationwide rollout, and 17 states saw adoption fall. This roundup focuses on universal meals specifically; for the broader program picture see our school meal program statistics. We aggregated data from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service and Economic Research Service, the Federal Register, the Congressional Research Service, the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), and peer-reviewed studies in Pediatrics, JAMA Network Open, the Journal of Health Economics and Nutrients.
TL;DR
- 55,362 schools and 27.6 million children used community eligibility in 2025-2026 (FRAC, CEP Report, July 2026).
- 74.9% of the 73,939 eligible schools adopted CEP (FRAC, CEP Report, July 2026).
- CEP student enrollment grew just 1.4%, the smallest increase since 2014-2015 (FRAC, CEP Report, July 2026).
- 9 states have universal school meals laws; at least 28 have considered them (Thompson and Coakley, Nutrients, 2026).
- About 60% of NSLP schools offered free meals to all students in 2023-2024 (CRS, R46234, 2025).
- NSLP averaged 30.0 million daily participants in FY2025, 73.0% of lunches free or reduced-price (USDA FNS, NSLP summary, 2026).
- Paid lunch participation fell from 7.7 million in FY2019 to 1.0 million in FY2022, then rebounded to 8.1 million by FY2025 (USDA FNS).
- First-year state universal meals lifted breakfast participation 27.2% in CO, MI, MN and NM (FRAC, HSMFA Report, April 2025).
- CEP schools in California saw a 0.60 percentage point net drop in obesity prevalence (Localio et al., Pediatrics, 2024).
- State universal meal policies cut chronic absenteeism by 3 percentage points (Ramponi et al., American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2026).
- A free lunch earns 4.76 dollars in federal payments versus 45 cents for a paid lunch in SY2026-27 (Federal Register, July 2026).
- 74% of large districts surveyed worry about SNAP and Medicaid cuts undermining free meals (FRAC, Large School District Report, 2026).
1. The Baseline: Who Eats School Meals and Who Pays
The national lunch line is remarkably stable at around 30 million children, but the mix of who pays has swung wildly. When pandemic waivers made meals free for all in FY2022, paid participation collapsed from 7.7 million children in FY2019 to 1.0 million, and the share of lunches served free or at reduced price hit 95.5% (USDA FNS, Child Nutrition Tables). Once waivers expired, total participation dropped to 28.6 million in FY2023, which is the clearest real-world evidence of what charging for meals does to take-up.
Recovery since then is real but slow. FY2025 participation (30.0 million) is back above FY2019 (29.6 million), but breakfast, the meal most sensitive to stigma and logistics, still reaches only about half as many children as lunch. The federal outlay is large: the lunch program cost 17.7 billion dollars in FY2024 across nearly 100,000 schools (USDA ERS, National School Lunch Program).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| NSLP average daily participation, FY2025 | 30.0 million (21.3M free, 0.8M reduced, 8.1M paid) | USDA FNS, NSLP summary data (as of Sept 11, 2026) |
| Lunches served, FY2025 | 4,871.3 million; 73.0% free or reduced-price | USDA FNS, NSLP summary data |
| Paid lunch participation, FY2019 vs FY2022 | 7.7 million vs 1.0 million | USDA FNS, NSLP summary data |
| Share of lunches free or reduced-price, FY2022 | 95.5% | USDA FNS, NSLP summary data |
| NSLP participation, FY2023 (first year after waivers) | 28.6 million | USDA FNS, NSLP summary data |
| School Breakfast Program participation, FY2025 | 15.70 million; 2,568.23 million breakfasts; 80.2% free or reduced | USDA FNS, SBP summary data |
| NSLP cost, FY2024 | 17.7 billion dollars for more than 4.8 billion lunches | USDA ERS, 2025 |
| NSLP plus SBP expenditures, FY2024 | About 23.59 billion dollars (17.84B + 5.75B) | Congressional Research Service, R46234 (July 2025) |
Context note: FY2020 and FY2021 (22.4 million and 11.0 million participants) reflect school closures and meals shifted to summer program channels, so they are not comparable to normal years.
2. Community Eligibility: From 14,000 to 55,000 Schools
Community eligibility is how universal meals actually reach most American children. A school or district qualifies when its identified student percentage (children directly certified through SNAP, Medicaid and similar programs) is high enough, and federal reimbursement is the ISP multiplied by 1.6. 55,362 schools adopted CEP in 2025-2026, up from 14,184 in 2014-2015, and 27.6 million children now attend a CEP school (FRAC, Community Eligibility: The Key to Hunger-Free Schools, School Year 2025-2026).
The 2023 rule change was the last big accelerant. USDA lowered the minimum ISP from 40% to 25%, effective October 26, 2023 (Federal Register, 2023-20294). The Congressional Research Service counts 40,235 CEP schools in 2022-23 and about 47,766 in 2023-24. The curve is now flattening: this year’s 2.1% school growth and 1.4% student growth are the weakest on record.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| CEP schools, 2025-2026 | 55,362 (+1,128, or 2.1%) | FRAC, CEP Report, July 2026 |
| Children in CEP schools, 2025-2026 | 27.6 million (+386,019, or 1.4%) | FRAC, CEP Report, July 2026 |
| CEP schools / students, 2014-2015 | 14,184 / 6.7 million | FRAC, CEP Report, July 2026 |
| CEP schools, 2022-23 vs 2023-24 | 40,235 vs about 47,766 | Congressional Research Service, R46234 (2025) |
| Students in CEP schools, SY2021-22 vs SY2022-23 | 16.2 million vs 19.9 million | Federal Register, CEP final rule (2023) |
| Minimum ISP threshold | Lowered from 40% to 25%, effective Oct 26, 2023 | Federal Register, 2023-20294 |
| CEP reimbursement multiplier | 1.6 (statute allows 1.3 to 1.6) | Federal Register, 2023-20294 |
| Estimated administrative savings from the rule | 103,869 dollars, 5,679 burden hours a year | Federal Register, 2023-20294 |
Context note: Arizona shows the rule’s effect at state scale. CEP schools there rose from 451 to 737, a 63% increase, giving an additional 147,125 children access to free meals between fall 2022 and spring 2024 (Raval et al., PLOS One, 2026).
3. The Adoption Gap: Poverty Tiers, States and Reversals
CEP is close to universal where poverty is highest and rare where the math is thin. Among eligible schools with an ISP of 60% or more, 99.6% adopted CEP; in the 25% to 39% band, only 35.5% did, and just 12.4% once states that subsidize meals are excluded (FRAC, CEP Report 2026). The reason is financial: at an ISP of 30%, the 1.6 multiplier covers only 48% of meals at the free rate (30 x 1.6 = 48), so the district must fund the rest.
Geography follows policy. States with universal meal laws or CEP subsidies sit at the top (New Mexico 100%), while New Hampshire adopted CEP in 2.1% of eligible schools. Seventeen states lost CEP schools in 2025-2026, led by Florida with 289 fewer schools and 232,636 fewer students (FRAC, CEP Report 2026).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible schools / adoption rate, 2025-2026 | 73,939 / 74.9% | FRAC, CEP Report, July 2026 |
| Eligible districts / adoption rate | 14,123 / 66.8% (9,438 adopted) | FRAC, CEP Report, July 2026 |
| Adoption by ISP band | 60%+: 99.6%; 50-59%: 90.1%; 40-49%: 74.1%; 25-39%: 35.5% | FRAC, CEP Report, July 2026 |
| 25-39% band, excluding subsidy and HSMFA states | 12.4% | FRAC, CEP Report, July 2026 |
| Highest school adoption | New Mexico 100.0%, Oregon 99.6%, New York 99.4%, Vermont 99.3%, Massachusetts 98.9% | FRAC, CEP Report, July 2026 |
| Lowest school adoption | New Hampshire 2.1%, Kansas 23.3%, Idaho 26.5%, Arkansas 29.1%, Wyoming 31.1% | FRAC, CEP Report, July 2026 |
| States where CEP adoption fell | 17 | FRAC, CEP Report, July 2026 |
| Florida decline | 289 schools (-9.8%), 232,636 students (-10.7%) | FRAC, CEP Report, July 2026 |
Context note: Florida’s drop is partly reversible. Broward County dropped 180 CEP schools but announced it would bring CEP back to 141 schools for 2026-2027 (FRAC, 2026).
4. State Healthy School Meals for All Laws
Where federal rules stop, nine states pay the difference. Nine states (California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York and Vermont) had universal school meals laws with mandatory funding as of December 31, 2025, and at least 28 states have considered such bills (Thompson and Coakley, Nutrients, 2026). California and Maine started in 2022-23, six more states in 2023-24, and New York in 2025-26. Michigan’s program is the only non-permanent one, renewed through the annual budget.
Almost every state law is built on top of CEP, requiring eligible schools to adopt it so federal dollars cover as much as possible. When USDA lowered the threshold, it estimated that as many as 2,090 schools in 471 districts in California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota and New Mexico would newly elect CEP. Funding is the political fault line: Colorado’s HB25-1274 referred two ballot measures to voters in November 2025, one to keep 12,430,388 dollars in excess revenue and one to raise about 95 million dollars a year (Colorado General Assembly, HB25-1274).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| States with universal school meals laws, end of 2025 | 9 | Thompson and Coakley, Nutrients, 2026 |
| States that have considered such bills | At least 28 | Thompson and Coakley, Nutrients, 2026 |
| First states to implement (SY2022-23) | California (AB 130, 2021) and Maine (LD 1679, 2022) | Thompson and Coakley, Nutrients, 2026 |
| States starting in SY2023-24 | Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Vermont | Thompson and Coakley, Nutrients, 2026 |
| Newest state | New York, effective SY2025-26 (FY2026 budget) | Thompson and Coakley, Nutrients, 2026 |
| Schools expected to newly elect CEP in 5 universal-meal states | Up to 2,090 schools in 471 districts | Federal Register, CEP final rule (2023) |
| Colorado HB25-1274 new revenue for the program | About 95 million dollars a year (plus 12,430,388 dollars retained) | Colorado General Assembly, 2025 |
| Vermont local foods incentive | 0.15 to 0.25 dollars per reimbursable lunch | Thompson and Coakley, Nutrients, 2026 |
Context note: the Congressional Research Service also counted nine states with funded universal meal policies in its July 2025 update (CRS, R46234). Some advocacy lists name slightly different states depending on whether pilots and partial programs count.
5. Participation Effects: Free Meals Fill the Line
The first measurable effect of making meals free is more children eating them, and the jump is biggest at breakfast. In the first year of state universal meals in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and New Mexico, breakfast participation rose by 245,741 students, or 27.2%, and lunch by 291,555 students, or 16% (FRAC, The State of Healthy School Meals for All, April 2025). Colorado led with breakfast up 37.0% and lunch up 29.1% between 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Nationally, free and reduced-price participation is rising too. In 2023-2024, 21.1 million children ate a free or reduced-price lunch, up 1.3 million (6.8%), and the breakfast ratio improved to 58.1 per 100 lunch participants (FRAC, The Reach of School Breakfast and Lunch, April 2025). Peer-reviewed evidence agrees on direction: a JAMA Network Open review of 6 US studies covering more than 11,000 schools rated higher lunch participation under CEP as moderate-certainty evidence (Spill et al., 2024).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| First-wave states (CA, ME, MA), first year | Breakfast +172,000 (8.1%); lunch just over +119,000 (3%) | FRAC, HSMFA Report, April 2025 |
| Second-wave states (CO, MI, MN, NM), first year | Breakfast +245,741 (27.2%); lunch +291,555 (16%) | FRAC, HSMFA Report, April 2025 |
| Change by state, 2022-23 to 2023-24 (breakfast / lunch) | CO +37.0% / +29.1%; MN +36.2% / +12.8%; MI +23.5% / +13.1%; NM +12.2% / +9.3% | FRAC, HSMFA Report, April 2025 |
| Free or reduced-price lunch / breakfast, 2023-2024 | 21.1 million (+6.8%) / 12.2 million (+8%) | FRAC, Reach Report, April 2025 |
| Free or reduced-price breakfast per 100 lunch participants | 58.1 (57.4 prior year) | FRAC, Reach Report, April 2025 |
| CEP lunch participation effect (Gordanier et al.) | +7.7% (8.2% elementary, 6.3% middle) | Spill et al., JAMA Network Open, 2024 |
| CEP participation effect (Schneider et al.) | Lunch +4.32 pp, breakfast +4.59 pp | Spill et al., JAMA Network Open, 2024 |
| Arizona, all three 2023 access policies combined | Participation +4.8% breakfast, +7.2% lunch; free meals served daily +27.9% / +26.8% | Raval et al., PLOS One, 2026 |
Context note: Vermont is the outlier, with breakfast down 1.8% and lunch up 0.1%, because it already ran a pilot in 2022-23 before its permanent law. Arizona’s figures combine CEP expansion with ending reduced-price co-pays and Medicaid direct certification, so they are not a pure universal-meals effect. FRAC estimates nearly 754 million dollars in federal breakfast funding went unclaimed in 2023-2024.
6. Health, Food Security and Learning Outcomes
Participation was never the end goal, and the newest research finally measures the downstream effects. Higher-income households in states that kept universal meals after 2022 saw a 1.3 percentage point differential drop in household food insecurity, and low-middle income households a 3.2 point drop, in a 2026 Pediatrics analysis of 75,122 households (Kinderknecht et al., Pediatrics, 2026). That matters because these are exactly the families that pay full price under means testing.
Weight outcomes point the same way. CEP schools in California saw a 0.60 percentage point net decrease in obesity prevalence, a 2.4% relative reduction from a 25% baseline (Localio et al., Pediatrics, 2024), and students who lost universal meals after June 2022 had less favorable BMI trajectories than those in states that kept them (Jones-Smith et al., JAMA Network Open, 2026). On learning, state universal meal policies cut chronic absenteeism by 3 percentage points across more than 10,000 schools, with no significant effect on math (Ramponi et al., American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2026). Absenteeism trends are tracked in our chronic absenteeism statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Household food insecurity, states keeping universal meals | -1.3 pp (highest income), -3.2 pp (low-middle income) | Kinderknecht et al., Pediatrics, 2026 |
| Grocery spending after CEP exposure | -11 dollars a month (5%); up to -39 dollars (19%) in high-exposure zip codes | Marcus and Yewell, Journal of Health Economics, 2022 |
| Food-insecure households after CEP exposure | Almost 5% decline | Marcus and Yewell, Journal of Health Economics, 2022 |
| Obesity prevalence, California CEP schools | -0.60 pp (95% CI -1.07 to -0.14), 2.4% relative | Localio et al., Pediatrics, 2024 |
| BMI z-score, lost vs retained universal meals (42,385 youths) | DID +0.03 by year 2 (P = .007) | Jones-Smith et al., JAMA Network Open, 2026 |
| Chronic absenteeism under state universal meals | -3 pp overall; -4 pp in schools with more Black students | Ramponi et al., Am J Prev Med, 2026 |
| English proficiency under state universal meals | +3 pp (math not significant) | Ramponi et al., Am J Prev Med, 2026 |
| Medicaid spending, Arkansas children, 2nd year after adoption | -6.3% (131,851 children) | Sundell et al., Health Affairs Scholar, 2026 |
Context note: the Marcus and Yewell grocery study (Journal of Health Economics, 2022) and the Localio obesity study use pre-pandemic data (most recent available). The Arkansas aggregate two-year effect was not statistically significant; only the second year was. The JAMA review found suspensions fell 0.7 percentage points in one study and no US study meeting its criteria on academic performance.
7. Money and Risk: Reimbursements, Costs and SNAP Cuts
Universal meals are financed by a federal gap that states and districts must fill. For school year 2026-27, a free lunch earns 4.76 dollars in federal payments (4.31 dollars under Section 11 plus 45 cents under Section 4), while a paid lunch earns 45 cents (Federal Register, National Average Payments, July 16, 2026). That 4.31 dollar difference per meal is what CEP’s 1.6 multiplier partially covers and what state laws pay for the rest.
The next threat is upstream. CEP eligibility runs on direct certification through SNAP and Medicaid, so fewer enrollees mean lower ISPs. FRAC warns that without federal action, including reversing the SNAP cuts in H.R. 1, nationwide drops in CEP adoption could begin as soon as 2026-2027. Districts feel it: in an October 2025 survey of 96 large districts, 74% reported concerns about SNAP and Medicaid cuts, 84% reported high food costs and 81% higher labor costs (FRAC, Large School District Report, 2026). Staffing pressure on the wider school workforce is covered in our teacher shortage statistics.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Free lunch payment, SY2026-27 (contiguous states, under 60% tier) | 4.76 dollars (4.31 + 0.45), up 15 cents in Section 11 | Federal Register, July 16, 2026 |
| Paid lunch payment, SY2026-27 | 45 cents (47 cents in 60%+ schools) | Federal Register, July 16, 2026 |
| Free breakfast / paid breakfast, SY2026-27 | 2.54 dollars (3.05 severe need) / 42 cents | Federal Register, July 16, 2026 |
| Annual rate adjustment, SY2026-27 | +3.54% (CPI food away from home) | Federal Register, July 16, 2026 |
| States using Medicaid data for direct certification | 44 | FRAC, CEP Report, July 2026 |
| States where share of children enrolled in SNAP/Medicaid-type programs declined, Feb 2020 to Jan 2026 | 22 | FRAC, CEP Report, July 2026 |
| Large districts offering free meals to all in surveyed schools | 6,169 schools (91%) across 78 districts (81%) | FRAC, Large School District Report, 2026 |
| Large districts concerned about SNAP and Medicaid cuts | 71 of 96 (74%) | FRAC, Large School District Report, 2026 |
Context note: Medicaid direct certification is the counterweight. Wyoming went from 24 to 64 CEP schools (+167%) after adopting it, and Maine’s participating schools grew 204.2% (FRAC, CEP Report 2026). The 96 surveyed districts enrolled 3,867,621 students in 6,751 schools.
Summary: Universal Free School Meals by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| CEP schools, 2025-2026 | 55,362 | FRAC, CEP Report, 2026 |
| Children in CEP schools | 27.6 million | FRAC, CEP Report, 2026 |
| CEP schools, 2014-2015 | 14,184 | FRAC, CEP Report, 2026 |
| Eligible schools adopting CEP | 74.9% | FRAC, CEP Report, 2026 |
| CEP student growth, 2025-2026 | 1.4% (smallest on record) | FRAC, CEP Report, 2026 |
| Adoption in 25-39% ISP band | 35.5% | FRAC, CEP Report, 2026 |
| States where CEP adoption fell | 17 | FRAC, CEP Report, 2026 |
| States with universal meals laws | 9 | Thompson and Coakley, Nutrients, 2026 |
| NSLP schools serving all students free, 2023-24 | About 60% | CRS, R46234, 2025 |
| CEP minimum ISP | 25% (from 40%, Oct 2023) | Federal Register, 2023-20294 |
| NSLP daily participation, FY2025 | 30.0 million | USDA FNS, 2026 |
| Paid lunch participants, FY2022 vs FY2025 | 1.0 million vs 8.1 million | USDA FNS, 2026 |
| Breakfast gain, second-wave universal states | +27.2% | FRAC, HSMFA Report, 2025 |
| Lunch gain, Colorado first year | +29.1% | FRAC, HSMFA Report, 2025 |
| Food insecurity, low-middle income households | -3.2 pp | Kinderknecht et al., Pediatrics, 2026 |
| Obesity prevalence in CEP schools | -0.60 pp | Localio et al., Pediatrics, 2024 |
| Chronic absenteeism under state universal meals | -3 pp | Ramponi et al., Am J Prev Med, 2026 |
| Federal payment, free vs paid lunch, SY2026-27 | 4.76 dollars vs 45 cents | Federal Register, 2026 |
| NSLP plus SBP spending, FY2024 | About 23.59 billion dollars | CRS, R46234, 2025 |
| Large districts worried about SNAP/Medicaid cuts | 74% | FRAC, Large School District Report, 2026 |
Methodology and Sources
Every figure was read during research for this article in a USDA data file or page, the Federal Register, a Congressional Research Service report, a FRAC report or a peer-reviewed paper. USDA FNS pages blocked direct automated access, so the NSLP and SBP national summary spreadsheets were read through a plain-text mirror; we cite the original USDA pages. Advocacy and vendor blog figures without a primary document were excluded, which is why this roundup has no national unpaid meal debt total. Readers interested in families who leave the system entirely can see our homeschooling statistics, and the school-level identification data behind other federal programs are in our special education IEP statistics.
- USDA Food and Nutrition Service: Child Nutrition Tables, NSLP and SBP national summaries FY1969-2025 (data as of September 11, 2026)
- USDA Economic Research Service: National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program
- Federal Register: Community Eligibility Provision, Increasing Options for Schools, final rule 2023-20294; National Average Payments for SY2026-27, 2026-14252 (govinfo)
- Congressional Research Service: School Meals and Other Child Nutrition Programs: Background and Funding, R46234 (July 2025)
- FRAC: Community Eligibility: The Key to Hunger-Free Schools, SY2025-2026 (July 2026); The State of Healthy School Meals for All (April 2025); The Reach of School Breakfast and Lunch, 2023-2024 (April 2025); Large School District Report 2026
- State law: Thompson and Coakley, Healthy Universal School Meals Laws, Nutrients (2026); Colorado General Assembly, HB25-1274 (2025)
- Peer-reviewed outcomes: Spill et al., JAMA Network Open (2024); Localio et al., Pediatrics (2024); Kinderknecht et al., Pediatrics (2026); Jones-Smith et al., JAMA Network Open (2026); Sundell et al., Health Affairs Scholar (2026); Raval et al., PLOS One (2026); Marcus and Yewell, Journal of Health Economics (2022); Ramponi et al., Estimated Impact of Universal Free School Meal Policies on Educational Outcomes in the U.S., American Journal of Preventive Medicine (2026, PMID 42242442, read via its Europe PMC abstract)
- Data watch: CEP counts differ by source and year: CRS gives about 47,766 schools for 2023-24, FRAC 54,234 for 2024-25 and 55,362 for 2025-26, and the CEP rule cites 19.9 million students for 2022-23; each is cited for its own year. FRAC’s CEP Report 2026 refers to nine Healthy School Meals for All states without a full list in the text we could read, so the state list here follows Thompson and Coakley (laws as of December 31, 2025). FRAC participation changes are 2022-23 to 2023-24 year-over-year and include CEP growth, not only state laws. The Kinderknecht lowest-income result (-3.8 pp child food insecurity) is omitted from tables because the authors flag a parallel-trends violation. The Jones-Smith comparison group is 95% Californian. The Ramponi study was read as an abstract only. The School Nutrition Association trends report, the USDA CEP database and state agency pages (California, Colorado, Minnesota) were blocked or unreachable, so no state cost or unpaid meal debt totals are reported. FRAC’s 2026-27 CEP decline warning is a projection, not data.
Last updated: October 3, 2026. We update this roundup quarterly, and the next refresh is expected when FRAC publishes its next Reach of School Breakfast and Lunch report and USDA FNS posts FY2026 NSLP and SBP national summary data.