Title: School Meal Trends & Stats
Headings: School Meal Trends & Stats
School Meal Trends & Stats
School Meals During the Pandemic
Benefits of School Meals
Participation, Meals Served and Program Cost
SBP Annual Cost:
Reimbursement Rates
NSLP Reimbursement Rates for the 2020-21 School Year:
SBP Reimbursement Rates for the 2020-21 School Year:
Eligibility for Free and Reduced Price Meals
School Meal Prices and Unpaid Meals
Unpaid meals and charge policies:
Eliminating the reduced price copay:
Community Eligibility Provision (CEP):
Cost to Produce School Meals
Breakdown in costs:
Typical expenses:
Lunch Period Scheduling

Content: This regulatory flexibility helps speed up meal distribution, reducing contact between students and staff and improving safety by eliminating requirements to collect payment or verify student eligibility for free meals. Unfortunately, COVID-19 school closures have had a severe negative financial impact on school meal programs. Due to declining revenue and higher pandemic meal costs, 54% of school meal programs reported a financial loss in SY 2019/20 and a harrowing 62% anticipate a loss for SY 2020/21, with an additional 28% of respondents unsure of what to expect. SNA is advocating for federal emergency relief funds to ensure school meal programs can continue to support America's students. Back to the top
Benefits of School Meals
Balanced nutrition throughout the day contributes to student success in and out of the classroom. Research demonstrates that school meal programs play an important role in supporting obesity prevention, overall student health and academic achievement by improving children’s diets and combatting hunger. Click on the links to read more about the proven benefits of the School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program. Also, hear from Pediatrician Robert Murray (MD, FAAP) about the importance of nutrients to brain and child development, and how healthy school meals build healthier students. Participation, Meals Served and Program Cost
National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Average Daily Participation: Nearly 100,000 schools/institutions serve school lunches to 29.6 million students each day, including: