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By David L. Snelling

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Due to reductions in a federal program which helps school districts offer free meals to all students, Palm Beach County Public Schools is cutting back on its free breakfast and lunch program.

This after the President Donald Trump administration decided not to reimburse high-poverty schools and districts for meal assistance, based on
other aid programs students and parents are eligible for assistance.

The Community Eligibility Provision was amended to provide food aid through the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

Funding for free meals at public school was reduced or cut, prompting school officials to seek money elsewhere to continue offering all students
free breakfast and lunch throughout the week.

But as of now, parents of students at 55 schools in the district will have to apply for reduced-price breakfasts and lunches.

Previously, the school district provided meals without the required form to be filled out.

Funding Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill made it harder for people to be eligible for safety net programs like SNAP, which reduced the number of
student recipients.

The change also reduced the number of school districts that receive reimbursements through community eligibility.

Community eligibility requires that at least 25 percent 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.

According to ChalkBeat, an education advocate website, roughly 12 million students nationwide could be impacted by the change.

About 29 percent of students live at or below the poverty threshold.

As of now, schools nationwide need to show 25 percent of students are enrolled in those kinds of assistance programs to participate in community
eligibility.

Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill raised the share to 60 percent which is higher than the threshold has ever been.

That would kick more than 24,000 schools off of community eligibility, and some 12 million students would no longer automatically qualify for free
meals.

In Florida, an estimated 1.2 million students who are eligible for free school meals could be impacted if their parents’ household income is slightly above the federal income eligibility guidelines.

Despite the changes, a Palm Beach County Public Schools spokesperson told the Palm Beach Post that students in nearly 75 percent of its schools
will receive 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.

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