Congress Must Raise the Outdated School Meal Reimbursement Rate

On September 23, U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Andy Kim (D-NJ) introduced the Healthy Meals Help Kids Learn Act, which would permanently increase the federal school meal reimbursement rate by 45 cents for lunch and 28 cents for breakfast. The House companion bill for this effort was introduced by Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA) in October 2025. 

The federal government reimburses schools a fixed dollar amount for every meal they serve that meets federal nutritional standards. Schools rely on this funding to pay for not only the food being served, but also to cover practically everything in their kitchens — from supplies and equipment, to paying their school food staff. 

The current reimbursement rate in the contiguous United States is between $4.70 and $4.80 for lunch and $2.50 and $3.00 for breakfast. While the rate is modestly raised for inflation each year, the baseline rate has not been significantly raised in years and has not kept up with the rising costs of food and labor. 

The outdated reimbursement rate is perpetuating the cycle of schools needing to rely on serving students primarily ultraprocessed foods instead of fresh, healthier scratch-cooked meals. Because the current rate does not adequately cover fresh food, labor, and cooking equipment costs, this leads to schools serving more pre-packaged, highly processed “convenience foods” that are linked to negative health and learning outcomes.  

Further, a new report from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Administration found that school food program revenues, including meal reimbursements, only cover an average of 81% of a program’s expenses. School food programs often compensate by drawing from a school district’s general fund, meaning funding for meals is competing with other educational priorities.

We urge Congress to pass the Healthy Meals Help Kids Learn Act.