The School Breakfast Program (SBP) provides low-cost or free breakfasts to children and typically operates in about 90,000 public and nonprofit private schools (grades pre-kindergarten–12) and residential child care institutions. USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers the SBP and reimburses participating schools and residential child care institutions for the meals served to students. Any student in a participating school can get an SBP breakfast. Students from households with incomes:
- At or below 130 percent of the Federal poverty line can receive a free breakfast.
- Between 130 and 185 percent of the Federal poverty line can receive a reduced-price breakfast.
- Above 185 percent of the Federal poverty line can receive a low-cost, full-price breakfast.
In fiscal year (FY) 2024, the program provided more than 2.5 billion breakfasts at a total cost of $5.7 billion.
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USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS) research explores a variety of issues and outcomes involving the SBP, including factors affecting participation. A 2009 ERS-sponsored study found that elementary school-age students were more likely to participate in the SBP when they came from lower income or time-constrained (where more adults are employed) households. Other ERS research found that the share of students receiving a free breakfast had increased between 2009 and 2019.
Meals served through SBP must meet Federal nutrition standards, which were updated in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) to more closely match the Federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans. ERS has investigated factors associated with a school's ability to serve healthy, appealing breakfasts within its cost constraints. Children with access to the SBP are more likely to eat breakfast in the morning, and ERS-sponsored studies found that, by increasing the likelihood that children would eat breakfast, SBP was associated with children having a lower body mass index (BMI), a measure of weight status. Other ERS-sponsored studies found that school meals contributed positively to the diet quality of participating students. To learn more, please see:
- School Meal Program Participation and Its Association with Dietary Patterns and Childhood Obesity
- USDA School Meals Support Food Security and Good Nutrition
- Schoolchildren Consumed More Whole Grains Following Change in School Meal Standards
- Trends in U.S. Whole-Grain Intakes 1994–2018: The Roles of Age, Food Source, and School Food
Additionally, the ERS report, Children’s Food Security and USDA Child Nutrition Programs, documents that participation in USDA’s child nutrition programs, including SBP, has been found to reduce food insecurity.
To respond to the disruptions caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, USDA issued waivers allowing for flexibilities in the implementation of the SBP and expanded the scope and coverage of the program’s Seamless Summer Option (SSO). USDA also created the temporary Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program to reimburse families with children eligible for free or reduced-price school meals for the value of school meals missed due to pandemic-related disruptions to in-person instruction at schools. The pandemic-related waivers expired in June 2022 and P-EBT expired at the end of FY 2023. The 2024 report, The Food and Nutrition Assistance Landscape: Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report, provides a summary of these pandemic-related modifications to SBP and other Child Nutrition programs. ERS research on P-EBT and pandemic-era changes to the SBP include:
- COVID-19 Working Paper: Filling the Pandemic Meal Gap: Disruptions to Child Nutrition Programs and Expansion of Free Meal Sites in the Early Months of the Pandemic
- COVID-19 Working Paper: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer Redemptions during the Coronavirus Pandemic
- Cost of School Meals and Households’ Difficulty Paying for Expenses: Evidence From the Household Pulse Survey
- One-Third of Households With Children Paying for School Meals Reported That Doing So Contributed to Financial Hardship
All values and figures are based on data available as of December 2024 and may be subject to revision.
Additional studies and information about program eligibility requirements, benefits, and application processes are available from the Food and Nutrition Service Child Nutrition Programs web page.