H.R. 8798 — Universal School Meals Program Act of 2026

This section makes the school breakfast program free for all enrolled children by setting the national average federal payment at $3.28 per breakfast, adjusted annually for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for food away from home (from 57 cents). It prohibits schools from collecting debts for unpaid breakfast charges or shaming children over meal debt, eliminates reduced-price and paid breakfast categories, and removes severe-need school add-ons.

This section revises the national average payment for each free school lunch to $5.42, adjusted annually for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index for food away from home. It establishes additional payments of $0.30 for each free lunch and supper, $0.21 for each free breakfast, and $0.08 for each free supplement for school food authorities that serve at least 25 percent of meals using locally sourced farm products, defined as products produced and distributed in the same state or within 250 miles. It eliminates the prior requirement for the Secretary to update meal patterns and nutrition standards for school meals through regulations.

This section makes all children enrolled in schools participating in the National School Lunch Program eligible for free lunches, eliminating prior income-based eligibility rules and reduced-price meal categories. It prohibits schools from collecting debts for unpaid meal charges.

This section terminates the special assistance program under section 11 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, ending federal payments that reimburse schools for serving free and reduced-price lunches to eligible children. It makes conforming amendments that remove all references to the repealed section from the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966.

This section eliminates the price equity requirement for paid lunches served under the school lunch program, including the related minimum price calculation and associated restrictions in subsection (l)(4).

This section expands the Summer Food Service Program for Children to serve all children regardless of income. It replaces references to free or reduced-price meal eligibility with identification of economically disadvantaged students under section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 for determining areas with poor economic conditions and related eligibility. It authorizes the Secretary to waive any program requirement that limits access to meals and directs payments for up to 3 meals and 1 supplement per child per day during May through September, school vacations, teacher in-service days, and closures due to natural disasters or similar causes.

This section increases the summer electronic benefit transfer benefit amount to $60 per month per eligible child for calendar year 2026 (from the inflation-adjusted amount based on $40), with subsequent years adjusted for changes in food costs. It revises eligibility to any child residing in a participating State or covered Indian Tribal organization. It changes the definition of eligible children to economically disadvantaged students identified under section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. It simplifies administrative processes for States and Tribal organizations.

This section makes all meals and supplements under the Child and Adult Care Food Program free to participants. It sets reimbursement rates for institutions at the free breakfast rate under section 4(b)(1)(B)(i) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, the free lunch rate under section 4(b)(2)(A), and $1.28 (adjusted for inflation) for supplements. It limits institutions to claiming reimbursement for 3 meals and 1 supplement per child per day. It removes the 25 percent income eligibility or title XX compensation requirement for private nonresidential child care organizations. It renames the at-risk school children program the Afterschool Meal and Snack Program, replaces “at-risk school” with “eligible,” and allows up to 3 meals and 1 supplement per child per day on non-school days (from 1 meal and 1 supplement).

This section expands the afterschool care program under section 17A of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to provide free meals in addition to supplements at eligible elementary and secondary schools. It sets reimbursement for each free meal at $5.42, adjusted annually for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for food away from home and rounded to the nearest lower cent beginning July 1, 2026. It maintains existing reimbursement rates for free supplements and limits claims to one meal and one supplement per child per regular school day.

This section updates the criteria for the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program to require that participating schools serve a high proportion of economically disadvantaged students, identified under the measure in section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. It makes the same conforming change to the student description in subsection (h) and terminates the pilot project in former subsection (j).

This section revises selection criteria for the fresh fruit and vegetable program under 42 USC 1769a by requiring states to prioritize high-need schools (as defined in 20 USC 6631(b)) with the highest proportion of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. It requires states to inform high-need schools, including Tribal schools, of program eligibility before selecting participants. It eliminates the application requirement to report the percentage of eligible students.

This section revises eligibility for competitive grants to State agencies aiding schools and school food authorities in acquiring or upgrading food service technology systems. It limits priority assistance to those with at least 50 percent of enrolled children who are economically disadvantaged students, as identified under section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, rather than those certified for free or reduced-price meals.

This section establishes a program under which the Secretary of Agriculture reimburses schools for all delinquent debt owed by parents or guardians for meals served under the school breakfast program or the school lunch program as of the effective date. The Secretary must establish the program within 60 days after that date, complete all reimbursements within 180 days, and the Comptroller General must report to Congress on the program's successes and challenges within 2 years.

This section removes all references to reduced-price lunches from the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act.

This section revises the poverty measure local educational agencies use to rank and serve eligible school attendance areas for Title I funds. It replaces the count of children eligible for free or reduced-price lunch with the number of children from low-income backgrounds identified through surveys or direct certification data. It directs the Secretary to develop a survey template within 180 days and authorizes transition procedures preserving prior direct certification and privacy standards.

This section terminates the requirement for state agencies to enter into agreements for direct certification of eligibility under the supplemental nutrition assistance program. It expands eligibility for the nutrition education and obesity prevention grant program to any individual eligible for benefits under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008.

This section revises the definition of a high-need school to mean a school in the highest quartile of poverty within its local educational agency, ranked by the percentage of students from low-income families using census data, TANF participation, Medicaid eligibility, or a composite of those measures. It updates GEAR UP eligibility to require services for at least one grade level beginning no later than 7th grade in schools where at least 50 percent of students are economically disadvantaged under ESEA measures or an entire grade resides in public housing. It replaces free or reduced-price lunch eligibility with the ESEA measure of economically disadvantaged students in the early Federal Pell grant commitment demonstration program.

This section revises definitions and eligibility criteria across three programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. (1) It removes one clause from the definitions governing literacy education grants. (2) It removes one condition from the requirements for education innovation and research grants. (3) It sets the enrollment threshold of children described in section 7003(a)(1) at not less than 30 percent for heavily impacted local educational agencies to qualify for impact aid.

This section removes eligibility for free or reduced-price lunches under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act as one of the data sources that state or local educational agencies may use to determine whether a child ages 5 through 19 qualifies as a low-income student under the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate program definitions.

This section removes one criterion from the definition of out-of-school youth under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

This section removes the initial eligibility and authorization requirements for National Science Foundation grants to institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations to establish mathematics and science education partnership programs with local educational agencies. It retains the remaining provisions on partnerships and uses of funds, now renumbered as the first and second subparagraphs.

This section revises the state allotment formula for the Child Care and Development Block Grant by replacing the school lunch factor with the economically disadvantaged students factor. It defines the factor as the ratio of the number of economically disadvantaged students in each state (identified under the measure in section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) to the total number of such students across all states.

This section replaces the school lunch factor with the economically disadvantaged students factor in the formula for allotting half of remaining annual appropriations to states. The new factor uses the ratio of economically disadvantaged students in each state—as identified under section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and determined annually by the Secretary of Education—rather than the number of children receiving free or reduced-price lunches under the National School Lunch Act.

This section makes juveniles incarcerated in eligible juvenile detention centers eligible for free lunches under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. It requires the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, to issue guidance to States within one year of enactment on reimbursement options for school food authorities serving such juveniles, and excludes private for-profit detention centers from the definition of eligible juvenile detention center.