Participation in school feeding programs has declined following the end of federal COVID- period support. A recent report demonstrated that during the 2022-23 school year 28.1 million students participated in school lunch programs.  This was six percent less than the number of students participating during the previous academic year.  Breakfast participation declined by 7.7 percent with a total of 14.3 million students served.

States that supported school feeding after expiration of federal support noted an increase in both breakfast and lunch servings.  An increase in student participation was directly attributed to the Community Eligibility Provision comprising a federal program that allows students to be fed irrespective of income status to avoid “food shaming”.

Investment in school feeding improves attendance and contributes to scholastic progress.  Accordingly, many states are expanding access to free school meals. Currently there is a patchwork of reduced-price meals for selected students with an emphasis on elementary grades.

The report called for uniform federal legislation to allow all schools to feed all students free of charge.