Published October 8, 2026
Adequate nutrition is essential to children’s growth, learning, and long-term well-being, and school meal programs, which serve nearly 30 million children each school day, are one of our nation’s most powerful tools for improving nutrition, supporting academic achievement, and advancing children’s health. For many children, school breakfast and lunch are the healthiest and most reliable meals they receive each day. Therefore, expanding access to and supporting the quality of school meals are critical investments in our nation’s children.
Research consistently shows that, since the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA), school meals provide a better overall diet quality for children than meals from other sources. HHFKA revolutionized school meal quality. By aligning school nutrition standards with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, increasing fruit, vegetable, and whole grain requirements, and placing limits on fats, sodium, and calories, HHFKA improved the nutritional quality of school lunches so much that students who eat school lunches generally have healthier meals than students who do not participate, regardless of their income level. In fact, children who participate in school meal programs consume more fruits and vegetables and have higher intakes of calcium and fiber than their peers who do not participate in school meals. Additionally, students who eat school lunch are also less likely to consume snacks, desserts, and non-milk beverages than children whose lunches come from elsewhere.
School nutrition professionals have worked hard to improve school breakfast and lunch, with many embracing farm-to-school initiatives, expanding scratch cooking, and developing menus that are nutritious, culturally relevant, and responsive to student preferences. To continue making nutritional improvements, schools need support such as stable and adequate funding and strong student participation in the meal programs. In other words, they need all the benefits that come along with a Healthy School Meals for All, the popular policy of offering meals free of charge to all students regardless of household income.
Recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research found that schools offering Healthy School Meals for All, either through state policies or districtwide Community Eligibility Provision adoption, benefit from higher school meal participation rates, reduced meal debt, more predictable budgets, and lower administrative burdens. As a result, schools have greater capacity to invest in staff, equipment, menu planning, and fresh ingredients. Notably, when USDA asked school food service professionals what single change would most improve their programs, the overwhelming response was simple: free meals for all.
“Universal free meals allows schools to achieve the lunch trays everyone wants to see: local foods from the farmers or fishermen down the street, more scratch cooking, and kids not having to worry if their parents were able to afford school lunch this week. Knowing we’re receiving the funding for the meals we serve allows us to prioritize local foods and hire, train, and support enough staff to start to make scratch cooking more of a reality.” —Caroline Trinder, RD, SNS, director of school nutrition for Saco, Biddeford, and Dayton Schools, Maine
USDA’s recent report builds on prior research that shows Healthy School Meals for All is central to nutritional quality. According to the School Nutrition Association, programs that offer free meals to all students are nearly twice as likely to serve scratch-prepared entrées daily, helping schools rely less on processed foods while further improving meal quality. As we look to build on the remarkable progress school nutrition programs have made, Healthy School Meals for All should be at the forefront of the national agenda. By reducing stigma, increasing participation, easing administrative burdens, and providing predictable funding, Healthy School Meals for All ensures that all students have access to the nutrition they need for a successful school day, while helping schools serve the healthiest meals possible.
To learn more about how Healthy School Meals for All supports scratch cooking and school meal quality, attend our webinar Healthy School Meals for All: A Proven Strategy for Better Nutrition and Student Well-Being, on Thursday, October 29, at 3 p.m. ET and join FRAC in urging Congress to pass the Universal School Meals Program Act to make Healthy School Meals for All a reality nationwide.