What Effect will Budget Cuts have on Students Lunch Programs?

As a middle schooler in the 1990s I was often greeted at lunch time by my favorite lunch lady with a carton of chocolate milk, and the best peanut and honey sandwich. To this day I can still see her smile and taste the sweet gooey peanut butter that sticks to your mouth.

Like many students from poor families, there are often days when I would show up with an empty lunch card and would be given a free meal. Understanding that an empty belly makes it hard to learn, educators and others have advocated for the expansion of free and reduced lunches for children, until post Covid, many schools in poorer areas provide universal free lunch.

“Research shows that receiving free or reduced-price school lunches reduces food insecurity, obesity rates, and poor health. In addition, the new school meal nutrition standards are having a positive impact on student food selection and consumption, especially for fruits and vegetables” (Food).

What do the Budget cuts have to do with student lunches?

Many people do not realize that the U.S. Department of Education plays a crucial role in supporting student lunches through programs like the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP), ensuring access to nutritious meals for all students, especially those in need (USDA). Although they are USDA assisted the administration is run through the Department of Education and often implemented through the state level (Blad). Both of these agencies have received steep budgets cuts.

In addition, the US House has introduced a $12 billion cut directly from the school meals program (Thorpe). According to the CBPP and the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), over 24,000 schools that serve more than 12 million children could lose access to the CEP program.

How will the cuts effect student lunches?

Even if the direct cut to lunches does not happen, budget cuts that have already been implemented will have an effect on school lunch programs. Not only is the Department of Education affected by the budget cuts, but the USDA is also experiencing cuts, which will trickle down to all programs, including lunch programs. Larger cities and higher poverty districts, which have a larger portion of government funding are conversely more effected by the cuts (Suarez)(Mosley).

Sources

Blad, E., & Prothero, A. (2025, March 13). Congressional Budget Cuts Threaten Free School Meals for Millions. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/congressional-budget-cuts-threaten-free-school-meals-for-millions/2025/03

Food Research and Action Center. (2018). Benefits of School Lunch. Food Research & Action Center. https://frac.org/programs/national-school-lunch-program/benefits-school-lunch

Mosley, T. (2025, March 12). What Trump’s cuts to the Department of Education mean for schools and students. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2025/03/12/nx-s1-5325731/what-trumps-cuts-to-the-department-of-education-mean-for-schools-and-students

State-by-State Fact Sheets: Community Eligibility Provision | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (2025, March 11). Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/state-by-state-fact-sheets-community-eligibility-provision

Suarez, C., & McGoey, S. (2025, March 18). How could federal education cuts impact Virginia school budgets? VPM; Virginia’s home for Public Media. https://www.vpm.org/news/2025-03-18/donald-trump-elon-musk-vdoe-doge-virginia-school-budgets-education

Thorpe, R. (2025, March 12). Map Shows States With Most Schools Impacted by Proposed Meal Funding Cut. Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/map-shows-states-most-impacted-school-meal-funding-cut-2043730

USDA. (2018). National school lunch program. Usda.gov. https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp