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Food Research & Action Center
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Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
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Food Research & Action Center and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Release New State Fact Sheets, Urging Congress to Protect the Community Eligibility Provision
WASHINGTON, March 11, 2025 – The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) today released state-by-state fact sheets detailing how proposed cuts to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) would worsen childhood hunger, hurt struggling families, and create unnecessary burdens for schools and districts.
CEP allows schools serving large numbers of children in families with low incomes to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students. More than 23 million children attending high-poverty schools had access to healthy school meals at no charge through CEP during the 2023–2024 school year. Program adoption has grown year after year, creating more operational efficiencies for schools, keeping more students fed and reducing stigma and lunch shaming in the cafeteria.
Despite its undeniable benefits, some lawmakers want to weaken community eligibility during the 2025 budget reconciliation. Their proposal would force more than 24,000 schools nationwide, serving more than 12 million children, to drop CEP.
“Congress should be making it easier, not harder, for children to get the meals they need to learn and thrive,” said Crystal FitzSimons, interim president of FRAC. “Community eligibility is a proven success, ensuring tens of millions of students have access to nutritious meals while easing burdens on families and schools. Instead of cutting community eligibility, lawmakers should be expanding it to allow more high-need schools and districts to adopt the option.”
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) has proposed $12 billion in cuts to school breakfast and lunch for the reconciliation, and the House Education and Workforce Committee (which has jurisdiction over school meals and the other federal nutrition programs) has been directed to cut funding for programs within its jurisdiction by $330 billion. In addition to the CEP cut, proposals include requiring schools to verify the household income of all families approved for free or reduced-price meals rather than using a sampling method. Not only would this approach mire schools in paperwork, but research shows that it results in substantial numbers of eligible children missing out on meals.
FRAC and CBPP’s fact sheets provide a breakdown of how many high-poverty schools and in each state would have to drop CEP, how many children attend them, and a list of the affected school districts.
“As families struggle to keep up with the rising cost of food, Republicans in Congress are looking at making it harder for millions of children in families with low incomes to get free meals at school. Worse yet, the proposed cuts would be part of legislation that would give massive tax cuts to the wealthiest people and businesses,” said Zoë Neuberger, a senior fellow at CBPP. “Congress should instead focus on removing red tape for schools and families so parents can afford groceries and children can get the meals they need for healthy development.”
View FRAC and CBPP’s fact sheets to learn how the proposed cuts would affect families and schools in your state.
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About Food Research & Action Center
The Food Research & Action Center improves the nutrition, health, and well-being of people struggling against poverty-related hunger in the United States through advocacy, partnerships, and by advancing bold and equitable policy solutions. To learn more, visit FRAC.org and follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky.
About Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization and policy institute that conducts research and analysis on a range of government policies and programs. It is supported primarily by foundation grants. To learn more, visit CBPP.org and follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram.
