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Momentum is building for Healthy School Meals for All.

Healthy School Meals for All ensures all students have the nutrition they need to learn and thrive.
 
Now is the time to join the movement. Raise your hand for Healthy School Meals for All.
 
So far, eight states are implementing policies that offer school meals to all students at no charge, regardless of household income.

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MOMENTUM.

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    13+

    Million children lived in households that experienced food insecurity in 2023, according to USDA

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    1 in 6

    Households with children struggled to buy enough food for their families in 2021 according to USDA

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    34K

    In the 2024–2025 school year, a family of three would need to make less than $34,000 to receive free meals in most states.

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    63%

    of voters nationwide support legislation that would make free school meals permanently available to all students (according to FRAC public opinion polling).

Children Can't Learn on an Empty Stomach.

As vital as the School Nutrition Programs are to ensuring children’s access to healthy, nutritious meals, too many children in need do not qualify for free meals in states without a Healthy School Meals for All policy.

 

THE SOLUTION.

Healthy School Meals for All — offering school breakfast and lunch to all students at no charge to families —helps ensure that all children have the nutrition they need to grow and thrive.

We need to continue building on what we know works in order to fuel children’s health and learning.

Tell Congress hungry children can’t wait.

Healthy School Meals for All is also critical for advancing racial equity and justice, ensuring Black, Indigenous and Latinx students get the nutrition they need to support their education and beyond.

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By providing healthy school meals for all students, we can eliminate school meal debt and the lunch shaming that can stem from it.

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Benefits of Healthy School Meals for All

Children can’t learn on an empty stomach and school meals are just as important to students’ academic success as textbooks and transportation. Free school meals for all students leads to many benefits for students, families and school staff.

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The Impact of Healthy School Meals for All

Hear from school food service professionals, parents, and teachers on the wide-ranging impacts of Healthy School Meals for All policies.

STRONG PUBLIC SUPPORT.

POLLING.

FRAC conducted public opinion polling in 2021 and found that 63 percent of voters nationwide support legislation that would allow schools to offer meals to all students at no charge. Since then, several states have conducted their own state-specific polling and found public support numbers that are even higher.  

Implementation

Eight states are currently implementing Healthy School Meals for All policies, offering a free breakfast and lunch to all students, regardless of household income. They include California, Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, Vermont, Michigan and Massachusetts. Now that students in those states have access to healthy meals to support their success at schools, advocates are ensuring that the School Nutrition Programs operate as seamlessly as possible. Check out our resources here to learn more about student participation rates, service models, collecting household income information and more in states that have Healthy School Meals for All.

GET INVOLVED.

Healthy school meals for all students would be a game changer. Encourage your legislators to endorse the Universal School Meals Program Act of 2023. This bill would ensure that all children have access to nutritious meals in order to learn and thrive year-round as we recover from the pandemic and beyond.

CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR

Ask your Senators to join the growing list of co-sponsors on the School Hunger Elimination Act and the Nutrition Red Tape Reduction Act. The School Hunger Elimination Act (S.4525) increases federal funding for community eligibility schools, creates a statewide community eligibility option, improves direct certification, and provides retroactive reimbursement for meals served to children who are certified for free or reduced price meals later in the school year. The Nutrition Red Tape Reduction Act (S.4523) would permanently lower the threshold for schools to participate in community eligibility to 25 percent Identified Student Percentage. This bill codifies a recent final rule from USDA.

Contact Your Legislators

TELL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.



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BUILDING MOMENTUM.

Across the U.S., parents, teachers, students, doctors, nurses, dieticians, policymakers and many others are raising their hand in support of Healthy School Meals for All. California, Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, Vermont, Michigan and Massachusetts have passed Healthy School Meals for All policies. Additionally, Nevada is putting pandemic funds to good use by offering one more year of free school meals to all students during the 2023-2024 school year. Many other states are considering similar legislation. Join us in being part of the solution!

State Healthy School Meals for All Campaigns

Anti-hunger, education, and child advocates across the country are calling for their state to implement Healthy School Meals for All. Check out their campaign websites here.

 

Passed! Active Campaigns
California Connecticut
Colorado Maryland
Maine New Jersey
Massachusetts New York
Michigan North Carolina
Minnesota Ohio
New Mexico Oregon
Vermont Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Tennessee
Washington, D.C.
Wisconsin

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National Advocacy

FRAC is proud to convene the National Healthy School Meals for All Coalition, a diverse group of national anti-hunger, education, health, school nutrition, and child advocacy organizations dedicated to building support for and passing nationwide free Healthy School Meals for All legislation. Read the Coalition Statement of Support.

The Coalition supports the following legislation:

Universal School Meals Programs Act (S.1568/H.R.3204)
School Meals Expansion Act (H.R.2567)
No Hungry Kids in School Act (H.R.3112)
Expanding Access to School Meals Act (H.R.3113)
School Hunger Elimination Act (S.4525)
Nutrition Red Tape Reduction Act (S.4523)

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News

Healthy School Meals for All Is a Back-to-School Essential

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Report Underscores Success of Healthy School Meals for All Policies

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Massachusetts Secretary of Education: Healthy School Meals for All Has Made Positive Change

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National School Lunch Week Highlights the Powerful Role That School Meals Play

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States Show Us What Is Possible With Free Healthy School Meals for All Policies

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Back to School Season Furthers Call for Free Healthy School Meals for All

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What to Know About Michigan's Universal Free School Meals Program

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Vermont Governor Allows Free School Meals to Become Law Without Signature

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New Mexico Governor Signs Universal School Meals into Law (K–12 Dive)

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Signs Free School Meals Bill into Law (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

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Maine's Path to Healthy School Meals for All (Full Plates Full Potential)

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What Families Lost When the US Lost Universal Free School Meals (The Hill)

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Universal Free Meals to Students Is Now a Reality With Voters Largely in Favor (The Denver Post)

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Student Leader Applauds California's Free School Meals for All (Voice of OC)

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‘The Kids Are Just Happier’: Could California’s Universal School Meal Program Start a Trend? (The Guardian)

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Free School Meals: When the Feds Step Back, States Step Up (Bloomberg)

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‘Starting to Panic’: School Lunch Costs Return for US Families Just as Inflation Hits (Bloomberg)

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Advocates Call for White House to Speed Up Efforts to Secure Universal School Meals (K–12 Dive)

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N.C. Bill Would Provide Free Lunches to All Students in Public Schools (WECT)

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Nevada Students Won’t Need to Worry About School Meals Next Year (KLAS)

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Reykdal Calls for WA Legislature to Fund Free School Meals for All (Seattle Times)

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Help Make Healthy School Meals for All the New ‘Normal’ in Maryland

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Vermont Passes Healthy School Meals for All Legislation

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California and Maine Lead the Way With Healthy School Meals for All

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Healthy School Meals for All Advances Racial Equity

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True Cost of Food Report from The Rockefeller Foundation Reinforces Benefits of Healthy School Meals for All

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VIDEOS

Watch FRAC Interim President Crystal FitzSimons testify on the importance of school meals before the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition.
FRAC's school meals work was recently featured on HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver! Jump to 08:47 for the segment on Healthy School Meals for All.
Raise your hand for Healthy School Meals for All!
Check out FRAC's latest Healthy School Meals for All webinar to learn the strategies of successful HSM4A campaigns from Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Colorado.
Watch a feature on Healthy School Meals for All from Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. FRAC Director of School and Out-of-School Time Programs is featured on the practice of "lunch shaming."
Hear Minnesota Rep Ilhan Omar speak on the critical importance of Healthy School Meals for All in an exchange with USDA Food and Nutrition Service Administration Cindy Long at a hearing of the House Education and Labor Committee.
Learn how to start a Healthy School Meals for All campaign in your state in this FRAC webinar.
California has already passed legislation to provide school meals to all students at no cost to families, proving Healthy School Meals for All is a viable policy option to prevent hunger and support academic achievement.
Maine has already passed legislation to provide school meals to all students at no cost to families, proving Healthy School Meals for All is a viable policy option to prevent hunger and support academic achievement.

New Report: The State of Healthy School Meals for All

Learn more about the momentum building around Healthy School Meals for All in FRAC’s latest report, The State of Healthy School Meals for All: California, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Vermont Lead the Way.

Read the Report
HSMFA Report 2024 Cover

Resources