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Utah families who currently pay reduced prices for school meals will soon get them for free after Gov. Spencer Cox approved a bill Tuesday that eliminates reduced-cost lunches.
An additional 40,000 students in kindergarten through sixth grade who currently pay reduced-price meals will now receive school meals for free after July 1 under HB100.
The measure also prevents schools from “stigmatizing students who cannot afford meals,” which means eliminating practices that could draw unwanted attention, such as using different colored lunch trays for those who get free food.
Right now, to receive free school meals, a family’s income must be at or below 130% of the federal poverty level — about $40,560 annually for a family of four.
Students currently qualify for reduced-cost lunches if their family’s income is at or below 185% of the federal poverty level — about $57,720 for a family of four. Next academic year, these students will qualify for free meals.
On average, a reduced-price school meal in Utah costs 40 cents, yet schools have amassed about $2.8 million in lunch debt, as many families still struggle to afford it.
“This is still accruing so much debt for our families in the state, and many of these families are actually going to collections,” Emily Bell McCormick, founder and president of The Policy Project, told lawmakers in February.
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The nonprofit had been working with the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo, to raise money in hopes that the state would keep the Summer EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) program going, a stipulation proposed in an earlier version of the bill.
Summer EBT is a permanent federal program established by Congress in 2022. It provides eligible families with approximately $40 a month per child to help with food costs during the summer months.
The national program launched last year, but Utah, along with several other Republican-led states, chose not to participate. This school year, however, the state decided to give it a try, though future participation isn’t guaranteed.
A previous version of HB100 would have required Utah to keep supporting the Summer EBT program beyond this school year. While the program is federally funded, states must contribute a share of the cost. For Utah, that’s about $618,600 to secure over $31 million in summer food assistance for approximately 260,000 children across the state.
The Policy Project, along with other philanthropic organizations, would have contributed Utah’s portion for summer 2026, however, that stipulation was removed from the final version of the bill that passed on March 6.
The nonprofit is still working to raise separate private funds as a “reserve” in case the $2.5 million lawmakers allocated to expand the free school lunch program under HB100 falls short, said Jayden Davis, a spokesperson for The Policy Project.
The bill also mandates that schools participating in the National School Lunch Program adopt food-waste reduction practices where feasible.
The Policy Project is raising additional funds to support schools in addressing stigma, securing food-waste resources and monitoring the outcomes of the bill, Davis said.
