# School Meals Expansion Act

This bill makes it easier for schools in lower-income communities to provide free meals to all their students without having to collect individual applications from families. Right now, schools can offer universal free meals through something called "community eligibility," but they have to meet pretty strict requirements. This bill loosens those requirements so more schools can qualify.

Here's how it works in practice: Schools use something called a "multiplier" to estimate how many students qualify for free meals based on the number of students already receiving assistance programs like food stamps. Currently, schools have to count students at a lower rate, which means they need a higher percentage of their student body to already be getting assistance before they can offer free meals to everyone. This bill increases that multiplier from the current level to 2.5, which means schools can reach the eligibility threshold much more easily. At the same time, it lowers the threshold itself—the percentage of students who need to be in assistance programs—down to just 25 percent. Combined, these changes mean schools serving communities with significant poverty can now provide free breakfast and lunch to every student without the paperwork hassle of individual applications.

The practical impact is straightforward: more kids get fed without their families having to fill out forms or worry about stigma. Schools in struggling communities won't have to spend resources verifying eligibility for each student. The bill takes effect starting in the 2023-2024 school year and applies to any school district that chooses to participate in this community eligibility program.

School Meals Expansion Act

McGarvey, Morgan

School Meals Expansion ActThis bill expands eligibility for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the school lunch program. It also increases the reimbursement rate for schools under the CEP. (The CEP allows eligible schools, groups of schools, and school districts the option to offer breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students without collecting household applications.)This bill lowers the threshold for a school to participate in the CEP to an identified student percentage (ISP) of at least 25%, from 40%. The ISP is the percentage of students who are eligible for free school meals without a household application, primarily those who are directly certified through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).The bill also increases the reimbursement multiplier for school meals to 2.5 from the current 1.6, effectively increasing the reimbursement rate for the CEP participating schools. The reimbursement multiplier is used to calculate how many meals will be reimbursed at the free meal rate. A higher multiplier means more meals will be reimbursed at this higher rate.&nbsp;&nbsp;