Proposed Cuts to School Meals Put Arizona Kids at Risk

Each day, millions of students fuel their minds and bodies with good, nutritious meals at their schools. School meals have proven to support children’s health and development while improving test scores, attendance, and behavior. However, access to school meals for thousands of children in Arizona is at risk.  

Congressional proposals threaten $12 billion in cuts to school breakfast and lunch meals, and the House Education and Workforce Committee, which has jurisdiction over school meals, has been directed to cut funding for programs within its jurisdiction by $330 billion. The proposals would substantially decrease the number of schools eligible for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and make it more difficult for eligible families to apply for free or reduced-price school meals at non-CEP schools. The CEP allows high-need schools to offer breakfast and lunch at no charge to all students.  

During the 2023–2024 school year, more than 23 million children attending schools in high-poverty areas had access to healthy school meals at no charge through CEP. Program adoption has grown year after year, creating more operational efficiencies for schools and keeping more students fed, all the while reducing stigma and lunch shaming in the cafeteria.  The proposals would force more than 24,000 schools nationwide, serving more than 12 million children, to drop CEP. The proposed cuts would reduce students’ access to nutritious school meals and raise families’ grocery bills while imposing unnecessary and burdensome paperwork requirements on schools.  

The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) released state-by-state fact sheets detailing how proposed cuts to the CEP would worsen childhood hunger, hurt struggling families, and create unnecessary burdens for schools and school districts.  The proposed cuts impact 366 schools in Arizona and 148,062 children. All children must continue to have access to nutritious school breakfasts and lunches for their health and learning.  

To read more about the CEP and the schools in Arizona that would be impacted, please review the FRAC and CBPP’s Arizona CEP Fact Sheet.