No Child Should Go Hungry: The Case for Free School Meals

The human suffering caused by poverty and food insecurity is a reflection of a society whose government and policies have failed its most vulnerable members.

Lisa Clark, a third grade teacher at Stalker Elementary School in Idaho, says that in her class of 20 students, six rely on the Idaho Foodbank for consistent access to meals and snacks. In the classroom, where many students rely on free or reduced-price meals, Ms. Clark says her students suffer from the consequences of food insecurity: “These kids have no chance to learn or develop as an individual when their tummies are empty. It is hard not to feel sad for those students in your classroom who are suffering. I want to take them home and feed them a warm meal and give them a nice bed to sleep in.”

Ms. Clark’s students are just a few among the 13.1 million children in the United States who are food insecure. Since the start of the COVID19 pandemic, the crisis of food insecurity has only worsened as families lost jobs and lines grew exponentially outside of food pantries like the Idaho Foodbank. In response, the federal government implemented a novel program: meal waivers that would provide universal free meals for children in public schools, authorized through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The program covered over 50 million children in America’s public schools, adding tens of millions of additional students to free meal programs compared to pre-pandemic levels. This universal coverage not only reduced stigma for students who were previously using free or reduced price meals by removing income-based eligibility requirements, but also improved student attendance, reduced suspension rates, and improved academic performance. Between the beginning of the pandemic and the summer of 2021, food insecurity in at-risk households with children declined by 7%.

In September 2022, these waivers expired, leading school districts to revert back to the pre-pandemic eligibility guidelines which offered free meals for children from families making 130% or less of the federal poverty line and provided reduced price meals for children from families making between 130% and 185% of the federal poverty line. Since the universal program ended, federal data shows that participation in school meal programs has declined by 23%. Ending the universal free meals program at a time when food prices have skyrocketed due to inflation is particularly cruel for working-class families and has reignited a debate amongst food security advocates about universal free school meals. Restoring this program is vital in promoting academic excellence, educational equity, and student health in districts across the nation.

First, we need to understand why food insecurity is such a crisis in American schools. Among the 13.1 million children experiencing food insecurity, a disproportionate number come from marginalized backgrounds. For example, Black children are three times more likely to face hunger than white children and are more likely to live in food deserts with a dearth of affordable, healthy food. Rural students are more likely to live in counties with the highest food insecurity rates and rural families experience unique challenges that worsen economic precarity, including a lack of transportation, lower-paying jobs, and underemployment. Among undocumented and refugee communities, food insecurity is also disproportionately experienced due to legal and linguistic barriers and a lack of workplace protections.

Food insecurity is particularly devastating for K-12 students in public schools. As Ms. Clark so eloquently explained, “these kids have no chance to learn or develop as an individual when their tummies are empty.” Her observation is substantiated by a wide range of research about the impacts of food insecurity on children, including slower development; being more prone to illness, including stomachaches, headaches, and colds; more hospitalizations; withdrawal from social and extracurricular activities; lacking focus; lower test scores and academic performance; higher levels of obesity; and permanently altering brain structures that control memory and psychosocial functioning. For this reason, school nutrition programs have been a crucial tool in helping students access meals while they are in school. As Hunger Solutions New York explains, these programs “have been proven to reduce hunger, support good nutrition, improve health outcomes, and bolster student success.”

Ending the universal free meals program at a time when food prices have skyrocketed due to inflation is particularly cruel for working-class families.

However, the current eligibility criteria are incredibly narrow and exclude certain families from eligibility. In January of 2023, the New York Times opened up a piece about universal free school meal programs by telling the story of April Vazquez, a school nutrition specialist who earns just over the income threshold and whose three children no longer qualify for free or reduced price meals. Half of American workers made under $35,000 in 2019, but millions are uncounted under the current thresholds of the federal poverty line (which between March 2022 and March 2023 was just $18,310 for a family of two and $27,750 for a family of four). These strict cutoffs exclude families like Ms. Vazquez’s: they also incur incredibly high bureaucratic costs, including for the collection of lunch debt, which in the United States, amounts to over $262 million a year. These statistics of poverty and food insecurity are an indictment of our nation’s failure to meet the needs of our low-income students and working families.

My research at Wash U’s Social Policy Institute analyzed the efficacy of free and reduced price meal programs, but also looked at states who are leading the way towards tackling state-level

food insecurity. After federal waivers expired, California’s state legislature passed AB 130 and Maine passed LD 1679 to extend universal free meal programs indefinitely. On the federal level, instituting proposals such as Senator Bernie Sanders’ Universal School Meals Program Act would extend universal school meals permanently and make a permanent dent on food insecurity for American students. If we truly believe no child should go hungry, we need to pass policies like these which most effectively tackle food insecurity.

Universal free meals aren’t enough alone to solve the crisis. Another paper from the SPI found that schools which leverage the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and Breakfast After the Bell (BATB) increased breakfast participation by 14%. Further research from Brookings indicates that expanding the Community Eligibility Provision could also benefit students and relieve school finances. To promote a holistic approach, we also need to think about how to tackle systemic, structural problems that contribute to the broader crisis of food insecurity: food deserts, poverty, and unlivable wages are a great place to start.

No child in the wealthiest nation on Earth should go to school or to bed on an empty stomach. Food insecurity is a scourge to our nation that policymakers should dedicate time and energy in addressing. The human suffering caused by poverty and food insecurity is a reflection of a society whose government and policies have failed its most vulnerable members. Universal school meals are an effective first step in ensuring that students can go to school on full stomachs and achieve their full potential, a right that every child deserves.

Ranen Miao ‘23 studies in the College of Arts & Science. He can be reached at ranenmiao@wustl. edu.