Analysis
School Meals and Nutrition
Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Mississippi announced updated income eligibility guidelines for free and reduced-price school meals, with Illinois and Pennsylvania specifying coverage for the 2026–27 period. Massachusetts is partnering with Project Bread to provide free meals in child care settings and afterschool programs. Colorado is expanding Healthy School Meals for All through $23.8 million in grants for local food purchases, scratch cooking and higher nutrition staff wages.
Based on 7 K-12 News stories
- AASA Conducts Survey on the State of School Meal Programs Across the Country · AASA, The School Superintendents Association · Sep 21, 2026
- ISBE Announces New Income Eligibility Guidelines for Free and Reduced-Price School Meals · Illinois State Board of Education · Sep 10, 2026
- New Income Guidelines Announced for Free and Reduced-Price School Meals · Maryland State Department of Education · Sep 4, 2026
- Governor Healey Partners with Project Bread to Provide Free Meals in Child Care and Afterschool Programs · Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education · Aug 19, 2026
- Colorado expands Healthy School Meals for All with grants for schools to purchase local food, expand scratch cooking, and boost nutrition staff wages · Colorado Department of Education · Jul 27, 2026
- MDE announces USDA income guidelines for the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program and After School Snack Program · Mississippi Department of Education · Jul 1, 2026
- New Eligibility Guidelines for Free and Reduced School Meals · Pennsylvania Department of Education · Jul 1, 2026
2
Stories · 30 days
5
Stories · 90 days
7
States
7
Sources
Recurring themes
Movement over time
Rolling 30-day story count, one bar per day since tracking began (2026-09-22).
Where it is happening
Shading reflects how many published stories mention each state. Blank states have no stories in the database yet.
Who is reporting it
- AASA, The School Superintendents Association1 story
- Illinois State Board of Education1 story
- Maryland State Department of Education1 story
- Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education1 story
- Colorado Department of Education1 story
- Pennsylvania Department of Education1 story
- Mississippi Department of Education1 story
How this analysis is created
Every story K-12 News publishes is read and tagged with its topic, state, organisations and key terms. Stories describing the same development are grouped, then counted over time to show what is growing, holding steady or fading. Figures come from the stories themselves and each analysis links to the original reporting. Where there are too few stories to compare periods fairly, we say so rather than showing a percentage.
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