H.R. 8728 — Feed Our Kids Act of 2026

This section revises the school breakfast program under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to provide free breakfast to all children enrolled at participating schools. It sets the national average payment rate for each free breakfast at $2.80, adjusted annually for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for food away from home and rounded to the nearest lower-cent increment beginning July 1, 2026. The section eliminates reduced-price and paid breakfast categories, removes related apportionment provisions, and requires states to disburse funds to selected schools for program operation. It prohibits schools from collecting debt for unpaid meal charges effective on the date of enactment and bars physical segregation, overt identification, or meal denial for children participating in the program. The section also updates nutritional requirements, conforming amendments, and provisions for Department of Defense overseas dependents' schools.

This section revises the national average payment rates for free lunches under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act by setting the base rate at $4.63 per lunch, adjusted annually for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for food away from home and rounded to the nearest lower-cent increment. It establishes an additional payment for school food authorities that certify at least 25 percent of meals served (including breakfasts, lunches, suppers, and supplements) were made with locally sourced farm products—defined as products marketed directly or through intermediated channels and produced within the State or 250 miles of the school food authority—amounting to $0.30 for each free lunch and supper, $0.21 for each free breakfast, and $0.08 for each free supplement, with the same annual inflation adjustments and rounding applied. The section also strikes the prior paragraph (3).

This section revises eligibility requirements under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to provide free lunches to all children enrolled in participating schools, eliminating reduced-price and paid meal categories. It makes conforming amendments to the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, the Social Security Act, title 10 of the United States Code, and other provisions by striking references to reduced-price meals, debt collection procedures, and related eligibility determinations. This section also prohibits participating schools from collecting debt for unpaid meal charges and from lunch shaming practices such as physical segregation or use of special tokens or lists to identify children with unpaid charges.

This section terminates the special assistance program under section 11 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a), which provides higher per-meal reimbursements to schools serving free and reduced-price lunches to low-income children. It makes conforming amendments that remove all references to the repealed section from sections 6, 7, 8, and 12 of that Act, section 7 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, and section 1101(j)(3) of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, including by striking “or reduced price” in the latter provision.

This section repeals requirements under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act governing the price charged for paid lunches. (Thus, local school food authorities are no longer subject to the prior federal pricing rules for students who pay the full price for lunch.)

This section revises the Summer Food Service Program for Children by replacing references to free or reduced-price school meal eligibility with “economically disadvantaged students (as identified under a measure described in section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965)” for site eligibility, reimbursement, and related determinations. It adds authority for the Secretary to waive any program requirement that limits children’s access to meals and states that all children are eligible to participate, with reimbursement provided for meals served to all children. The section expands allowable service periods to include May through September, school vacations during the academic year, teacher in-service days, and days when school is closed due to natural disaster, building repair, court order, or similar cause, while limiting payments to no more than 3 meals and 1 supplement per child per day and removing prior restrictions on serving only children in poor economic areas or migrant children.

This section modifies the Child and Adult Care Food Program. It expands eligibility for reimbursement to any private organization providing nonresidential child care or day care outside school hours for school children; requires all meals and supplements to be served free to participants, with institutions reimbursed at the free breakfast rate under section 4(b)(1)(B)(i) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, the free lunch rate under section 4(b)(2)(A), or $1.20 (adjusted for inflation) per supplemental meal; limits reimbursement claims to 3 meals and 1 supplement per child per day; eliminates specified paragraphs on participation and redesignates remaining paragraphs; and renames the program for at-risk school children as the Afterschool meal and snack program, replaces references to at-risk school children with eligible children, and revises daily limits to 1 meal and 1 supplement on regular school days and 3 meals and 1 supplement on all other days.

This section expands the afterschool care program under section 17A of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to provide free meals in addition to supplements. It sets the reimbursement rate for each free meal at $4.63, adjusted annually for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index for food away from home and rounded to the nearest lower-cent increment each July 1 beginning in 2026, while reimbursing free supplements at the rate established under section 17(c)(2)(C). The section limits participating institutions to claiming reimbursement for no more than one meal and one supplement per child per regular school day. It also prohibits schools from engaging in meal shaming practices, such as physical segregation or use of special tokens or lists to identify children with unpaid charges, and bars collection of debt for unpaid meal or supplement charges as a condition of program participation.

This section revises eligibility criteria for pilot projects under section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act by requiring participating schools to serve a high proportion of economically disadvantaged students (as identified under the measure in section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) and by replacing references to students eligible for free or reduced-price meals with the same economically disadvantaged standard. It also repeals subsection (j) and redesignates subsection (k) as subsection (j).

This section revises the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program by removing prior application and allocation requirements, limiting participation to high-need schools (as defined in section 2211(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6631(b))) that submit applications and meet specified criteria, striking the prior clause on per-student funding allocations, and requiring State agencies to conduct outreach to high-need schools, including Tribal schools, regarding program eligibility before making participation decisions.

This section revises the criteria for schools and students targeted by training, technical assistance, and Food Service Management Institute activities under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act from those with students certified to receive free or reduced-price meals to those with economically disadvantaged students (as identified under section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965).

This section establishes a program under which the Secretary of Agriculture reimburses schools participating in the school breakfast program, the school lunch program, or the afterschool snack program for all delinquent debt owed by parents or guardians for meals or meal supplements served as of the effective date. The Secretary must establish the program and distribute a data collection form to State agencies within 60 days after the effective date and complete all reimbursements within 180 days after the effective date. Not later than 2 years after the effective date, the Comptroller General must submit a publicly available report to Congress describing the successes and challenges of the program.

This section modifies the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act by striking all references to “or reduced price,” “or a reduced price,” “and reduced price,” and “a reduced price” meals.

This section directs the Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service to submit a report to Congress, not later than 1 year after the effective date of this Act, on the impacts of the school lunch program under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and the school breakfast program under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 on participating students. The report must address whether amendments made by this Act have produced measurable positive academic outcomes such as increased test scores or graduation rates, whether the programs increase access to nutritional meals and locally sourced farm products, and any recommendations for additional legislative or administrative actions to increase the use of locally sourced farm products in program meals.