The Case for Universal Free School Meals

January 2024

Executive Summary

Although it is rarely included on the standard school supply list—between the glue sticks, highlighters and scientific calculators—school meals are one of a child’s most important school supplies. The positive impacts access to a nutrient-dense school breakfast and lunch have on student attendance, academic performance, and well-being is well-researched and undisputed.

Participation in school meal programs decreases food insecurity, fills the nutrition gap between children from lower- and higher-income households, and provides the most nutritious meal or meals in some students’ entire day. Yet, for Hawaiʻi’s keiki, access to this essential school supply is inequitable, and revocable when parents are unable to pay—Hawaiʻi is one of only a few states that legally allows this.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) School Breakfast Program (SBP) and National School Lunch Program (NSLP) have played crucial roles in providing meals to children for decades, serving 2.5 billion breakfasts and 4.9 billion lunches in FY2019. 

However, in addition to their many benefits, these programs also have limitations that leave gaps in coverage and access to meals for some children, especially those from households struggling to make ends meet. It is imperative to recognize the current and historic role of community organizing and mutual aid in covering these gaps and feeding the most vulnerable in our communities. 

The Black Panther Party’s Free Breakfast for Children Program in the late 1960s was one of the first community initiatives to provide free meals to children in need. The efforts of the Black Panthers were driven by a commitment to equity and economic justice, and highlight the long-standing need for and success of universal meal programs. In fact, the Panther’s program inspired the National School Breakfast program, rolled-out nationwide in 1975. 

During the COVID-19 public health emergency, the federal government authorized a two-and-a-half year long, nationwide universal free school meals pilot program which—among other benefits—significantly reduced child hunger in at-risk households by 7 percent, and eased the financial burden on families during an economic crisis. Unfortunately these federal flexibilities have ended, causing schools in Hawai‘i and around the nation to revert back to charging students for meals, and lunch-shaming—practices that stigmatize students whose meal accounts have a negative balance and are unable to pay.

In response to these challenges, eight states across the country have taken the initiative to fund and implement their own Universal Free School Meal (UFSM) programs. These states recognize the worthwhile investment in their keiki and the numerous benefits of UFSM, including eliminating lunch-shaming and meal debt, reducing stigma, and addressing inadequate income eligibility rates for working families struggling to make ends meet.

Universal Free School Meal programs are powerful tools to promote equity, support economic justice, and combat childhood food insecurity in Hawai‘i and across the United States. By drawing on the historical legacy of community-based initiatives, and by learning from the successful efforts of states implementing UFSM, Hawai‘i has the opportunity to take meaningful steps toward ensuring that no child goes hungry at school, and that our keiki have equal opportunities to succeed.