AASA Conducts Survey on the State of School Meal Programs Across the Country

SEPTEMBER 21, 2026, ALEXANDRIA, VA — The National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program currently serves daily meals to approximately 30 million children in over 94,000 schools, which plays a critical role in addressing food insecurity and ensuring students are ready to learn.

According to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service, in 2024, 18.4% of households with children in the United States were food insecure.

AASA, The School Superintendents Association, representing more than 10,000 public school district leaders across the country, surveyed its members in June and July 2026 to gather data on the current state of school meal programs, identify challenges, assess current capacity, and find opportunities for improvement.

AASA’s survey generated responses from 429 school district leaders representing 43 states.

You can review the survey in its entirety, including graphics and AASA recommendations here.

These are the key findings:

• 67% of respondents indicated that current federal funding levels present a moderate or significant challenge for their school meal programs.
• 40% of district leaders reported that last year they had to pull funding from elsewhere in their budget to cover the cost of their school meal programs.
• When funding is excluded, the most commonly reported challenge facing school meal programs is compliance with federal nutrition standards (69%).
• In the context of current federal nutrition regulations, 37% of respondents reported that student acceptance/participation was the greatest operational challenge.
• Less than half of respondents (44%) cited that every school in their district has a full kitchen equipped for scratch cooking.
• The most commonly reported barriers to expanding scratch cooking are staffing (64%) and funding (61%).

Respondent profile:

• Locality: 63% rural districts; 27% suburban districts; 10% urban districts
• Enrollment: 57% small districts (<2,500 students); 28% medium districts (2,500-9,999); 14% large districts (≥10,000 students)
• Poverty/percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals (FRPM): 10% high-poverty (FRPM > 75%); 34% mid-high poverty districts (FRPM = 51-75%); 40% mid-low poverty districts (FRPM = 26-50%); and 16% low-poverty districts (FRPM ≤ 25%)
• Healthy school meals for all (HSMFA): Fifty-five percent (55%) of respondents provide free meals for all students regardless of family income.

The survey findings demonstrate that many districts are operating school meal programs under significant financial and operational constraints, limiting their ability to serve healthy, appealing meals that align with the federal nutrition standards and expand practices, such as scratch cooking.

District leaders reported that insufficient reimbursement, staffing shortages, procurement challenges, limited kitchen capacity, and low student acceptance can make it difficult to operate financially sustainable programs. In some communities, districts are diverting resources from other educational priorities or drawing down reserves, to continue serving meals.

Without adequate federal support, districts face difficult budget decisions including reducing funding for other priorities to absorb rising school meal costs or, in some cases, withdrawing from the federal school meals program altogether.

AASA will continue to work with Congress and the Administration to ensure federal policy and funding reflects the operational realities of school meal programs, and district leaders aren’t forced to choose between supporting children in the classroom and feeding them.

About AASA 

AASA, The School Superintendents Association, founded in 1865, is the premier association for school system leaders and serves as the national voice for public education and district leadership on Capitol Hill. A professional community of more than 10,000 educational leaders, AASA and its members are committed to providing high-quality public education to all students. For more information, visit aasa.org.