Food Research & Action Center’s report, The Reach of School Breakfast and Lunch During the 2021–2022 School Year , reveals that just over 15.5 million children received a school breakfast, and 29.9 million children received a school lunch on an average day during the 2021–2022 school year — an increase of 1.6 million children in breakfast, and 10.1 million in lunch compared to the 2020–2021 school year.
Participation was higher than that of pre-pandemic levels: just over 866,200 additional children participated in school breakfast and 1.4 million additional children participated in school lunch when compared to 2018–2019, which was the last full year before the pandemic.
This growth in participation shows just what is possible when meals are available to all students at no cost, and students are back in school. Bold and strategic action on the local, state, and federal levels to make Healthy School Meals for All a reality is needed so we don’t lose the progress made to date.
