The recently passed Republican tax and spending bill didn’t spell out any major changes to national school lunch programs. But changes to SNAP benefits and Medicaid will likely affect access to free school lunches.
SNAP and Medicaid recipients automatically qualify for free school lunches. But changes to eligibility requirements to SNAP and Medicaid will likely lead to fewer people qualifying for those benefits – which means more people will have to apply separately for free lunches to figure out if they’re eligible.
Advocates like Abby Emanuelson of the School Meals For All North Carolina say they worry the paperwork might make it harder for kids in need to get food.
“We know that there’s such an administrative burden, we know that people fall through the cracks," Emanuelson said. "The same number of kids would be qualified, but they’re just not going to have filled out the paperwork to actually qualify.”
Schools where 25% of the student population qualify for school lunches through programs like SNAP and Medicaid are automatically eligible to receive universal free school lunch for all students.
That means that schools on the cusp who see their percentages decrease below 25% might lose that universal access. This comes as many states, including North Carolina, face the prospect of shouldering part of the costs for SNAP benefits for the first time under the bill.
