The Palm Beach County School District will no longer provide free breakfast and lunch to all of its students.
Parents and guardians of students at 55 schools in the district will have to apply for free or reduced-price breakfasts or lunches, a significant departure from recent years when the district provided meals without the need for a form to be filled out. Forms will be available in mid-July.
The district cited changes in the federal program that reimburses high-poverty schools and districts for meal assistance, the Community Eligibility Provision. The CEP reimbursement formula is based on the percentage of students eligible for assistance through a couple of other aid programs, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP.
The Trump Administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which the president signed into law in July 2025, made it harder for people to be eligible for safety net programs like SNAP. That has reduced the number of students eligible for SNAP assistance and, in turn, reduced the number of schools and districts that get reimbursement through community eligibility.
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Community eligibility requires that at least 25% of students in a school or cluster of schools must be homeless, migrant, in foster care or eligible for federal assistance programs like SNAP, TANF or Medicaid in order for a district to get partial federal reimbursement for the cost of providing all students at those schools with free meals.
Palm Beach County is one of the wealthiest counties in the state. Five district-operated schools that in 2025-26 had been eligible for federal Title I assistance based on student poverty will not be eligible for that assistance in the coming 2026-27 school year, district officials have said.
But the county’s enclaves of affluence don’t obscure the poverty that exists here or the affordability challenges faced by those who are above the poverty line.
That poverty and those challenges had spurred district officials to welcome the opportunity to offer students no-hassle meal assistance.
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Federal changes mean fewer students will get that assistance.
Researchers have said requiring parents or guardians to apply for free or reduced-price meals will lower the number of students who get them.
A host of factors — embarrassment or shame, illiteracy, language barriers, apathy or work-derived time limitations — contribute to some parents and guardians not completing the paperwork.
Providing all of its students with free or reduced-priced meals without the need to complete a form had been a point of pride for the district, with Superintendent Mike Burke mentioning that fact several times in recent years.
A district spokesperson noted that, even with the changes, students in nearly 75% of its schools — 154 in total — will get free breakfast and lunch during the 2026-27 school year.
“Providing our students with access to nutritious meals is a top priority for the district,” a spokesperson said.
No Kid Hungry, a national campaign to end childhood hunger in the United States, has cited data that show hunger negatively affects a child’s academic performance as well as their cognitive, socio-emotional, motor, and physiological health.
The district has listed schools where all students will get free meals and the 55 schools where meals will have to be purchased. Free or reduced-priced meals will be available at those 55 schools if parents and guardians apply for assistance.
Breakfast will cost $2.50, and lunch at elementary and K-8 schools will cost $3.50. Lunch for middle and high schools will cost $3.75.
Reduced-priced breakfast will cost 30 cents, and reduced-price lunch will cost 40 cents.
Parents and guardians looking to apply for meal assistance for their children can do so in July through the National School Lunch Program, which uses family size and income to determine eligibility.
The district has made other meal information available through its Food Service Webpage.
For some students, school meals are the most nutritious available to them. The end of the school year threatens that nutrition.
The district has sought to minimize that threat.
“Many schools are open for free, on-site breakfast and lunch for children under the age of 18 over the summer,” the district noted in a statement. “There are 168 sites around Palm Beach County. Families can go to summerbreakspots.org or dial 211 to find a location near them.”
Wayne Washington is a journalist covering education and Riviera Beach development for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: No more free meals for students in Palm Beach County. Here’s why.
Reporting by Wayne Washington, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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By Wayne Washington, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
