Starting this school year, Texas students eligible for reduced-price meals will receive both breakfast and lunch at no cost, thanks to nearly $20 million in state funding approved for the next two school years.
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Under the new state budget funds, thousands of Texas schoolchildren will receive free or reduced-price lunches. The Sept. 1 shift will extend until the 2026-27 school year.
State lawmakers provided $19.8 million in the $338 billion budget for public school reduced-price meals. The legislation expands on $6.6 million in 2023 funding for free breakfasts for qualified kids. The extension provides $13.2 million for lunches this year.
“Kids who would have paid a small fee for meals will now receive them at no cost,” said No Kid Hungry Texas director Stacie Sanchez Hare. We know so many kids get their meals at school—it is a guaranteed place for free and nutritious lunches.”
Family income determines eligibility for free and reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. Families can apply at any time during the school year. Breakfast and lunch will be complimentary for reduced-price students until 2027.
The Texas Department of Agriculture reports that over 4,700 campuses offer free meals to all students through the Community Eligibility Provision, which allows low-income schools to serve meals to all students.
The Texas Education Agency expects schools to provide 1.8 million breakfasts and 3.3 million lunches every day this year. The Texas No Kid Hungry Project estimates that 101,000 students who paid for reduced-price lunches will now eat for free.
The Sept. 3 statement by Houston State Rep. Armando Walle commended the idea. Reduced-price meals five days a week, especially for families with multiple children, can be expensive and burdensome for working families, Walle added. I commend my colleagues for strengthening this program to benefit our state's health, education, and future.
Texas faces widespread food insecurity. In 2023, 5.3 million Texans, representing 17.6% of the state's population, were food insecure, the highest rate in the nation, according to Feeding America's May study.
Advocates say the meal expansion is crucial but not enough. No Kid Hungry Texas is advocating for the state's inclusion in the federal Summer EBT program, which provides grocery benefits to families during school closures. The latest budget included $60 million for administrative costs, but Governor Greg Abbott rejected it in June due to uncertainty surrounding the federal nutrition program.
Over 100 organizations, including food banks and businesses, have petitioned Abbott to reconsider. “With just the flick of a pen, he could change the situation,” Sanchez Hare added. “We sent a letter and await the governor's response.”
The governor has not changed the program statement.
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