Congress Passes Bill That Threatens School Meals Across the Country
What’s new: Congress has passed the budget reconciliation bill that threatens school meal access for students across the country.
- The Senate passed the measure with a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance acting as tie-breaker.
- The House passed the Senate version by a vote of 218-214, on July 3.
Where things stand: Governors shared early warnings that states may not be able to continue operating SNAP following passage of this bill.
- As this bill is implemented and families lose access to food assistance through SNAP benefits, their children will also lose automatic eligibility for school meals, making access to nutrition more difficult or out of reach completely.
- Meanwhile, schools facing staff shortages and budget constraints will struggle to manage increased paperwork and application processing requirements.
What’s next: SNA is committed to school meal programs and the students that rely on them. We will continue to work closely with officials, USDA and state governments to monitor the impact, request updated guidance and secure support.
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