Expanding Access to School Meals Act of 2025

HR 2680, the Expanding Access to School Meals Act of 2025, ends reduced-price breakfast and lunch programs under federal law and expands free meal eligibility. It raises the income threshold for free lunch eligibility from 130% to 224% of the federal poverty level (Sec. 201) and allows schools to directly certify children receiving Medicaid benefits as eligible for free meals without additional applications (Sec. 202). The bill also permits schools to request retroactive reimbursement for meals served to eligible children starting the first day of the school year (Sec. 203) and increases the community eligibility program multiplier to 2.5 for schools serving high-poverty areas (Sec. 204). These changes directly affect public school students from low-income families and school districts receiving federal meal reimbursement funds.