The School Hunger Elimination Act of 2024 expands and improves access to free school meals for low-income children. The bill makes several key changes: it requires states to automatically certify children receiving Social Security supplemental income for free meals without requiring families to submit additional applications, expands automatic certification for children covered by Medicaid, and increases the federal reimbursement rate for schools serving high percentages of low-income students. The legislation also establishes a five-state demonstration program beginning in July 2026 to test universal free meal programs in schools with the highest childhood poverty rates, with the federal government funding these meals at enhanced reimbursement rates. States participating in the demonstration must provide matching non-Federal funding to ensure schools receive at least 90 percent of meals at the free reimbursement rate. The bill allocates $3 million for evaluating the demonstration projects' impact on academic achievement, attendance, food insecurity, and meal program operations, with results due by September 2030.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.