More than two-thirds of U.S. schools say they’re unable to afford the cost of student free lunch—and MAHA’s dietary guidelines may make it worse
More than two-thirds of U.S. public schools report they cannot afford to sustain free meals for students. An economist warns that updated dietary guidelines may exacerbate these financial challenges. Schools are facing rising costs and insufficient reimbursements, leading to concerns about the sustainability of their nutrition programs.
- ▪69.6% of school nutrition directors reported insufficient reimbursement rates for school lunches this year.
- ▪The Trump administration's dietary guidelines may further strain school lunch programs financially.
- ▪Rising food costs and labor expenses have contributed to the increasing cost of feeding schoolchildren.
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As more than two-thirds of U.S. public schools say they already can’t sustain free meals for their students, one economist is sounding the alarms and says the Trump administration’s updated dietary guidelines may make these financial troubles even worse.Recommended Video For the 2023-2024 school year, the government provided 4.8 billion lunches to the nearly 29.4 million students belonging to the National School Lunch Program, at a cost of $17.7 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Part of this sum takes the form of cash reimbursements to schools serving free or reduced-cost food to students, with free lunch costing roughly $4.70 per student per meal. Many schools, however, say the assistance they receive to feed students the subsidized meals are not enough.
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