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Children eat lunch in the cafeteria at Andrews Elementary School Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024.<\/p>\n
Mikala Compton\/American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Every year, thousands of Texas children are fed in local public schools.<\/p>\n
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Research shows that students need healthy, nutritious meals to stay focused and perform their best at school.<\/p>\n
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For many low-income students, school remains a reliable way to get those important meals. However, during the summer, schools and other community sites provide meals to children who need nutritional support.<\/p>\n
Why provide meals to students during the summer?<\/p>\n
More than a fifth of Texas children under 18 live in\u00a0households considered food insecure, which means they cannot access enough food because of financial or other resource constraints, according to Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks.<\/p>\n
About 16.4% of Travis County children are considered food insecure.<\/p>\n
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For many families, schools provide access to breakfast, lunch and sometimes healthy snacks during the school year.<\/p>\n
How big is the need?<\/p>\n
In the 2025-26 school year, 2.4 million \u2014 or 44% \u2014 of Texas\u2019 5.5 million students qualified for free lunch.<\/p>\n
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Public schools served 822 million meals and snacks for free that year.<\/p>\n
Children qualify for free and reduced-priced lunches if their family\u2019s income is between 130% and 185%<\/a> of the federal poverty line. A family of four would need to make less than $42,900 to qualify for free lunches and $61,050 or less to qualify for reduced-price lunches.<\/p>\n What are lawmakers doing?<\/p>\n In 2023, Texas lawmakers directed $6.6 million to cover costs so students eligible for reduced-price breakfast could eat for free. Another law in 2025 directed $19.8 million to cover the cost of reduced-price lunches for children.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n This means all children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals can eat at no charge.\u00a0<\/p>\n Where does the rest of the money come from?\u00a0\n<\/p>\n While Texas lawmakers agreed to fund some costs to feed low-income children, the vast majority of the funding comes from the\u00a0federal government under the National School Lunch Program. This program also funds meals over the summer for students.<\/p>\n The federal government pays a maximum of $4.77 per free lunch and $4.37\u00a0per reduced-price lunch. States receive about half those amounts for breakfast.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Where can children get free meals over the summer?<\/p>\n Schools are among a handful of\u00a0sites, like community centers\u00a0and libraries,\u00a0that serve free meals to qualifying children.<\/p>\n Several Austin ISD schools serve as sites<\/a> for children to access free meals between specified\u00a0times, and\u00a0families can find other locations through the Texas Department of Agriculture website<\/a>.<\/p>\n While some sites require children to eat on-site, others allow families to take meals to go.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n