School Nutrition Association calls on Congress to raise meal reimbursements in 2025 Position Paper

The School Nutrition Association (SNA) is once again calling on Congress to raise meal reimbursement rates, expand universal free school meal access and address school meal debt. 

Those requests were outlined in the SNA’s 2025 Position Paper and come at a time when school nutrition operators around the country continue to face rising costs and other challenges that threaten the stability of their programs. 

Here’s a look at each of the propositions outlined in the paper. 

Raise Meal Reimbursement Rates 

Currently, school nutrition programs receive about $4.50 in reimbursements for every lunch served. The SNA is asking Congress to raise the school lunch reimbursement rate by 40 cents per lunch and 15 cents per breakfast to help school nutrition operators with rising costs. 

In a new survey by the SNA which included responses from 1,390 school meal program directors nationwide, nearly all respondents (96.8%) indicated their programs require increased funding, with 69.5% citing an “extreme need” for more funds. Furthermore, 97.9% respondents cited food costs as their top program challenge and 92.1% of survey respondents shared that they are concerned about their program’s financial sustainability three years from now.

“School meals contribute to students’ academic achievement, foster healthy eating habits and support America’s working families,” said SNA President Shannon Gleave in a statement. “But for less than the average price of a latte, school nutrition professionals are expected to prepare and serve a nutritionally balanced lunch, complete with fruits, vegetables, lean protein and milk. Underfunded school meal programs need additional support from Congress to maintain meal quality, meet additional nutrition standards and ensure access for students in need.”

Expand Universal Free School Meal Access 

In addition to increasing meal reimbursement rates, the paper calls on Congress to expand universal free school meal access by passing federal and state legislation to eliminate the reduced-price school meal category, raise the free meal eligibility threshold and more. 

The SNA survey revealed that for school nutrition operators who charge for meals, 89.3% report challenges with families in need not receiving free or reduced-price meals, and 73.5% cite that students are going hungry or choosing not to eat. 

Address growing meal debt 

Meal debt occurs when students and their families can’t pay for meals at school. When schools accumulate meal debt, many have to divert education funds to cover their expenses. The SNA is asking Congress to find a way to resolve meal debt to help improve the financial stability of nutrition programs across the country. 

According to the survey, a vast majority (96.8%) of school districts that must charge for meals reported challenges with unpaid meal debt, with over two-thirds citing meal debt as a “significant challenge."

The amount of meal debt has also been increasing over the years, according to the SNA. The median reported district debt as of November 2024 was $6,900, which is 25.6% higher than the year prior and 102.9% higher than the median debt reported at the end of School Year 2017-18. 

SNA members will meet with members of Congress in early March to discuss the propositions outlined in the paper.