70% of Washington Students Now Have Access to Free Meals at Their Public School 

OLYMPIA––October 15, 2024––With recent expansions in meal access by the Legislature, 775,000 of Washington's 1,100,000 students (70%) now have access to school meals with no out-of-pocket cost to the student or their family. 

Students who are at risk for hunger are more likely to have attention and behavioral issues, face academic challenges, and develop poor eating habits. 

“We know that students can’t learn when they’re hungry,” said State Superintendent Chris Reykdal. “Students are at school for 7 hours per day and meals are part of the school day. We strongly believe that those meals should be provided for free, similar to textbooks and other items that schools provide to support student learning and well-being.” 

With the support and advocacy of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), the Legislature has continued to increase the number of students eligible for no-cost meals over the past four years. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) covers the full or partial cost of school meals for students who meet certain financial eligibility criteria and offer operational options that allow schools in some areas to provide meals at no charge to all students. However, when federal reimbursements do not cover the full cost, schools must absorb these costs or charge households for students that do not qualify.

In Washington state, the Legislature has expanded on these national programs so that more schools––with a focus on schools serving elementary-age students––can provide no-cost meals to all students within the school.  

With the support of the state legislature, in the 2023–24 school year, 1,269 schools offered meals at no charge. That number has increased to 1,523 schools in the 2024–25 school year, providing 775,000 students access to no-cost meals. 

With this expanded access, student participation in school meal programs is steadily increasing. In the 2023–24 school year, the number of lunches served at Washington schools newly operating universal meal programs increased 32% from the previous year, and the number of breakfasts served increased 50%.   

“When students participate in universal meal programs, their participation can save their families up to $1,200 per year that they might otherwise be spending on meals during the school day,” said Reykdal. “Especially as we all battle rising inflation and our budgets getting tighter, these programs provide much-needed financial relief to families statewide.” 

In schools where meals are provided at no cost to all students, school district nutrition professionals are no longer required to track and collect unpaid meal debts, a time-intensive process that can include phone calls, emails, and letters to families. Instead, these professionals have the capacity to focus on nutrition education and meal quality including scratch cooking and developing relationships with farmers and ranchers to purchase local foods. 

Because school meal participation has been higher than previously estimated in universal meals schools, Superintendent Reykdal put forward a request to the Governor and the Legislature to provide funds to cover those additional meals.