Federal changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid could affect an unexpected population — students receiving free meals through school.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture relies on eligibility for means-tested programs like SNAP as a benchmark for the Community Eligibility Provision, which is a waiver for high-poverty school districts to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students.
Schools where at least 25% of students are enrolled in programs like SNAP are eligible for the waivers without income verification or individual household applications.
A new report from left-leaning think tank Center for American Progress raises an emerging concern: Schools could lose Community Eligibility Provision status as fewer Hoosiers participate in SNAP and Medicaid, which the group attributes to eligibility rules attached to President Donald Trump’s tax and spending law enacted last year.
Some Indiana schools already opt out
Nearly 2,000 K-12 schools in Indiana are eligible or near eligible to participate in the Community Eligibility Provision, but only 400,000 of the 1 million Hoosier children enrolled in an eligible school are automatically provided free meals, according to Indiana Department of Education data.
That’s because some Indiana schools opted out of the waiver amid concerns that federal reimbursement wouldn’t cover the full cost of those meals.
Individual families participating in SNAP and other means-tested programs are directly certified too, eliminating extra paperwork for families who’ve already proved their income for food assistance, regardless of whether their child attends a CEP school.
The Center for American Progress identified 643,773 Hoosier students who were eligible for free or reduced-price meals individually or through school participation in the Community Eligibility Provision whose automatic enrollment could be in jeopardy.
"It's hard. Without that it would be 50% harder: scrounging change so your kid can eat that day, so your kid can eat a mediocre meal served on a styrofoam tray."Alexandra McMasters
The group cites the Food Research & Action Center’s report finding Indiana’s SNAP participation rate declined by 15% from January 2025 to April 2026, accounting for 92,000 Hoosiers no longer receiving food assistance.
And an estimated 174,000 Hoosier children are no longer insured through Medicaid in the same period — months before work requirements take effect for able-bodied adults insured through Indiana’s Medicaid expansion plan.
“When a family loses their SNAP benefits, it can also mean their kids lose access to free school meals,” Mimla Wardak, co-author of the report and research associate for economic policy at the Center for American Progress, said in a statement.
“And when a student has to skip meals at school, they face steeper barriers to learning,” she said. “These cuts directly threaten American children’s well-being and their futures.”
What happens if families lose direct certification?
If a school loses Community Eligibility Provision status, families will need to apply individually to prove they meet income restrictions for free or reduced-price meals.
The income limit for a family of four is $42,900 a year for free meals and $61,050 for reduced-price meals.
Families who earn too much will no longer qualify and will need to pay out of pocket.
The Center for American Progress estimates this would cost the typical Hoosier family with two kids an extra $1,080 a year.
“Inflation’s already pretty high,” said Lyndsay Coe, a single mother in Indianapolis who relies on $302 a month in SNAP benefits and free school meals to feed her daughter.
“We have a bare refrigerator” by the end of the month, said Alexandra McMasters, a single mother of two children living in Clinton.
Laid off from her job in healthcare, McMasters now works part-time for the U.S. Postal Service.
The family’s monthly SNAP allotment got cut to $300 this year, despite McMasters only working irregular hours. “They’re telling me that I make too much,” she said. “It’s wild.”
The rapid pace of change to public assistance rules worries parents like McMasters, who relies on free meals through South Vermillion Community Schools to supplement her family’s food budget.
“It’s hard,” she said. “Without that, it would be 50% harder: scrounging change so your kid can eat that day, so your kid can eat a mediocre meal served on a styrofoam tray.”
Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.
