Participation in the School Breakfast Program (SBP) and National School Lunch Program (NSLP) both increased nationally in 2023–24, promoting health and academic outcomes for students, according to a recent report from the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC).
This followed a dip during 2022–23 when pandemic-era nutrition waivers expired, the report explains, and “is a strong indication that school nutrition departments are stabilizing after years of facing staffing challenges and supply shortages triggered by the COVID-19 public health crisis.”
Overall, school nutrition teams were better equipped to implement best practices to increase the number of students fed, like having breakfast available in classrooms or grab-and-go options — strategies that also aid in decreasing the participation gap between breakfast and lunch programming.
A burgeoning collection of schools that offer meals to all young people via the Community Eligibility Provision and state Healthy School Meals for All initiatives was the biggest driver of growth, ultimately benefitting not just students, but families and staff as well.
“Offering meals at no charge to all students reduces the administrative burden on school nutrition departments, eliminates school meal debt, reduces stigma and streamlines the implementation of breakfast in the classroom and other innovative service models,” according to the report. “Despite this positive momentum, more students can and should be receiving a school breakfast and lunch. Participation in both school breakfast and school lunch by students from households with low incomes is lower than it was during the last full school year before the pandemic, which means that even though participation has increased from the prior school year, these programs have not regained all of the ground lost during the last five years.”
Enrollment declines also impact participation in nutrition programs as there are fewer students at public schools compared to years past.
“Ensuring that students are well-fed is part of safeguarding the health and well-being of our country’s children and supporting working families in every state. Now is the time to capitalize on this positive momentum, not roll back access. Healthy School Meals for All and community eligibility create a strong, sustainable foundation for schools to implement proven best practices like breakfast in the classroom and other alternative breakfast models,” according to FRAC. “Moving forward, collaboration among the U.S. Department of Agriculture, state child nutrition agencies, policymakers, educators, and anti-hunger advocates will be necessary to ensure all students are able to access these critical nutrition supports.”
By the numbers
On an average day in 2023–24, an estimated 15.4 million students received breakfast at school across the U.S. with more than 12.2 million being free or reduced-price (an 8 percent increase year-over-year) and 29.4 million students participated in lunch services with 21.1 million receiving the meal at no or reduced cost (an almost 7 percent jump from 2022–23).
In California, more than 1.3 million students accessed free and reduced-price breakfast services on average per day in 2023–24 — up from 1.2 million the previous year — and roughly 2.3 million students participated in free and reduced-price lunch programming daily — up from about 2.2 million in 2022–23, according to the report. The majority received the meals at no cost, with more than 197 million and 338 million free breakfasts and lunches served in 2023–24, respectively.
California in 2022–23 became the first state to implement a Universal Meals Program for all students. The initiative was intended to build on the foundation set by the federal NSLP and SBP programs, according to the California Department of Education. In addition to a mandate for schools to provide nutritious breakfasts and lunches, the program requires “very high poverty schools” to participate in federal provisions. The State Legislature allocates money for reimbursement to cover costs associated with the Universal Meals Program.
While the mandate applies to all local educational agencies and allows any student to request a meal for free, “only LEAs that participate in the NSLP and SBP are eligible to receive the state meal reimbursement,” according to the CDE. Learn more about the Universal Meals Program here.
