Fewer U.S. children may have access to free school meals this academic year amid changes ushered in by the Republicans’ tax-and-spending law, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” according to food and public policy experts. 

The impact on school meal programs stems from the OBBBA’s overhaul of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the formal name of the food stamp program. Those changes have led to 4.5 million people, including 1.5 million children, losing food stamps since the law was enacted, according to an estimate from the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP).

Losing SNAP can result in a child missing out on free school meals in two ways. First, students in households on food stamps are automatically eligible for free school meals, so dropping off the SNAP rolls ends their eligibility for such nutrition aid. 

Second, fewer children receiving SNAP can also block school districts from qualifying for the Community Eligibility Provision, or CEP. Created under the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, the CEP allows high-poverty schools to provide free meals to every student without requiring individual applications.

Overall, about 18.3 million students across the U.S. could lose access to free school meals, according to a 2025 analysis by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank. A typical family with two children in school could face an additional $2,200 in food costs this academic year without free school meals, according to a recent estimate from the nonpartisan Center for American Progress.

Choosing between food and rent

Already, one major school district has announced in recent weeks that it is scaling back its free meal program, with Florida’s Miami-Dade School District saying on July 23 that it can no longer provide free breakfast and lunch to all its students because many of its schools no longer qualify for the CEP. SNAP enrollment in Florida has declined by almost 20% since the OBBBA was signed into law in July of 2025, according to a CBPP analysis.

“One of the things that we are very concerned about is the ripple effect. As kids lose access to SNAP, the next school year they may lose that automatic link to free school meals, even if they are still eligible,” Katie Bergh, a SNAP expert at the CBPP, told CBS News.

She added, “If families are losing not just SNAP but also that connection to free meals at school, then many of them are going to be facing some really tough choices where they’re choosing between buying groceries and paying for other essential needs, like rent or medication or paying a utility bill.”

The Miami-Dade School District is incorporating a 30-day grace period to provide all lunches free of charge, Luis Diaz, its chief operating officer, recently told the Miami Herald. About 121 of the district’s schools will continue to qualify for free meals through the CEP; over the previous four years, all of the district’s roughly 400 schools had provided food at no charge. After the grace period ends, lunches will cost $4.20 per child.

“We’re really trying to use all the angles possible to try to minimize as much as possible the impact of cost for next year, because for the last four years there has been none,” Diaz told the publication.

The Miami-Dade School District didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

Adding red tape

Students who no longer receive SNAP benefits and lose eligibility for free school meals may still qualify for aid if their parents complete an individual application showing that their income falls under a certain threshold, said Diane Pratt-Heavner, director of media relations for the School Nutrition Association, a nonprofit that represents thousands of school food service directors across the U.S. 

Families of four earning below $42,900 are eligible for free school meals. But the application process can be burdensome, requiring applicants to list all sources of income, including government aid. Tracking income can also be complicated for parents who work multiple jobs, a common arrangement in low-income households, Pratt-Heavner said.

“Our organization advocates for free meals for all, because so many children and families fall through the cracks of that application process,” she told CBS News. 

Signs suggest many households are already struggling to pay for school meals, with the School Nutrition Association finding that unpaid meal debt at schools rose to $25.3 million last year — up 25% from 2024. Rollbacks in free school meals would also occur at a time when food prices are now 21% higher than in January 2022, the CBS News Price Tracker shows. 

While some children will lose access to free meals this year, more might be at risk in 2027 and beyond, Pratt-Heavner warned. In late 2027, states will face an additional $9 billion in food-stamp costs due to funding changes required under the OBBBA. That could drive some states to withdraw entirely from SNAP rather than shoulder the added expense, the CBPP’s Bergh said. 

In the meantime, food experts are concerned about the educational impact on kids who lose access to free school meals. Research has shown a link between free meal programs and learning, including a 2021 Brookings Institution study that found math performance improved in school districts that qualified for the National School Lunch program.

“We want to make sure that kids are well-nourished and ready to learn,” Pratt-Heavner said. “Let’s just make sure that they have free access to meals at school.”