Federal lawmakers have been considering sweeping changes to food benefits programs, including $12 billion in proposed cuts to school breakfast and lunch.
One of the proposed cuts would target a measure known as the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) that allows schools to provide broad access to free- or reduced-price meals for all students at high-need schools.
Narrowing CEP eligibility
A school’s eligibility for CEP is decided by the percentage of students, also known as the ISP rate, who receive outside food assistance, like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or who have been identified as part of a vulnerable group, like those in foster care or living without housing.
Under current rules, if more than 25 percent of students meet that criteria then schools can elect CEP reimbursement benefits to offer free meals to all, or most, students. In January, House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX) proposed raising that minimum threshold to 60 percent.
READ MORE: St. Petersburg weighs in on proposals to shrink SNAP funding
If adopted, the change would reduce the cost of school meals that are reimbursed by the federal government by an estimated $9 billion and many students would lose access to free- and reduced-cost cafeteria meals, according to an issue brief published by the Food Research and Action Center.
“Taking away this important and effective way for local schools to offer breakfast and lunch at no charge to all of their students would increase hunger in the classroom, reintroduce unnecessary paperwork for families and schools, increase school meal debt, and bring stigma back into the cafeteria,” according to the report.
During the 2023-2024 school year, CEP meals reached more than two million students across 2,887 schools in Florida, according to a fact sheet published in March.
If the eligibility threshold is increased from 25 percent to 60 percent, it's estimated that around one million children and more than 1,000 schools across the state could lose access to the free meals. In Hernando, Pasco and Pinellas counties, nearly 160,000 students across 219 schools would be impacted.
Tightening verification requirements
Under the proposed changes, students would still be able to qualify for free- and reduced-price meals on an individual basis through the National School Breakfast Program (SBP) and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).
Children in households that earn less than 130 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $40,000 for a family of four in Florida, are eligible for free breakfast and lunch. Students with families who earn 185% of the federal poverty level, or about $60,000 for a family the same size, are eligible for reduced price meals.
Food policy experts said during a virtual town hall on Thursday that there are many students who currently benefit from free- and reduced-price meals at CEP schools who would not qualify for subsidized meals based on their household income.
Lawmakers are also considering requiring schools to implement stringent “income verification documentation” for families of students approved for subsidized meals on an individual basis.
The changes are intended to “increase program integrity” and ensure “those who receive benefits are in fact eligible” to protect the future of the programs, according to the budget proposal.
Policy experts opposed to the proposal said that requiring schools to independently verify students’ household income would create mountains of paperwork, as well as create an administrative and financial burden for local school districts.
Lawmakers could slash other federal food benefit programs
Proposed cuts to school breakfast and lunch comes amid talk about slashing funds for other food benefits programs.
Also looming is a proposed $230 billion in cuts to food-purchasing benefits known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Carolyn Vega, a policy analyst with the group No Kid Hungry, said that proposed cuts to food aid aren’t happening in a vacuum.
”I know it's a lot of technicalities and numbers and percentages swirling, but I think this really does speak to how interrelated a lot of these proposals are. It's not just cuts to SNAP being hard on their own. It's not just cuts to CEP or changes to school meals being harder on their own, they add up together to further limit access and make it harder for families to feed their kids,” she said.
Gabriella Paul covers the stories of people living paycheck to paycheck in the greater Tampa Bay region for WUSF. She's also a Report for America corps member. Here’s how you can share your story with her.
