Raise
your hand

MOMENTUM.

• 

  13+

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

• 

  1 in 6

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

• 

  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.

• 

  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.

STRONG PUBLIC SUPPORT.

• 

  81%

  of voters in North Carolina support school meals for all

• 

  87%

  of Ohio parents of school-age children agree that schools should provide school meals at no cost to all students, regardless of the student’s ability to pay

• 

  77%

  of registered New York voters support state funding for Healthy School Meals for All. 

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:

More than 70 percent of Minnesota voters – including majorities across every ideological and demographic category – say they approve the state legislature’s decision (in 2022) to provide free school meals to all students, regardless of income.

Eight in 10 Pennsylvanian voters support expanding the state’s free breakfast program to include lunch.

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.

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.

TELL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.