Congress·In Committee·H.R. 2680

House Bill Would Expand Free School Meals to Families Earning Up to 224% of Poverty Level

Expanding Access to School Meals Act of 2025

12 months ago·View on Congress.gov

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Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Key Points

Ends the “reduced-price” school breakfast and lunch option. Kids would either qualify for free meals or pay the full price.
Raises the income cutoff for free school lunches from 130% to 224% of the poverty level, so more families could qualify.
Lets schools use Medicaid information (with state agreements) to automatically qualify some kids for free meals, cutting down on paperwork for parents.
Requires schools to update earlier meal claims so a child approved for free meals can be counted as free starting from the first day of that school year.
Makes it easier for more schools to offer free meals to all students by increasing the community eligibility multiplier to 2.5 starting with school years after July 1, 2025.

EducationHealthcareConsumer Protection

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

How this policy affects specific groups of people

Positive Impacts(4)

Child Tax Credit

Helps

Student

Helps

Medicaid

Helps

Housing Assistance

Helps

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Apr 7, 2025House

Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Apr 7, 2025

Introduced in House

What Happens Next

Projected impacts based on AI analysis

During each school year, after a student’s free-meal eligibility is approved

School districts begin updating meal reimbursement claims back to the first day of the school year when a child is approved later

Families may see fewer disputes about past meal charges once eligibility is approved, and schools can get reimbursed for meals already served earlier in the year.

Related News

2 articles

TAPinto·about 1 year ago

Gottheimer slams Trump administration's cuts to school meals program for children

Rep. Josh Gottheimer announced the 'Expanding Access to School Meals Act,' which eliminates the reduced-price meal category and raises the free meal income threshold from 130% to 224% of the federal poverty level, mirroring a New Jersey state policy he aims to implement nationally.

FoodService Director·about 1 year ago

Federal bill would prevent students who are in the country without legal status from receiving free or reduced-price school meals

While focusing on restrictive legislation, the report highlights the active 2025 legislative session for school nutrition, including efforts to eliminate the reduced-price meal category and expand eligibility thresholds across various federal and state-level proposals.