OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – There are many students in the state of Nebraska who receive free or reduced lunch and breakfast.

The state’s Board of Education is looking into school meal programs and the barriers that prevent some districts from participating.

Right now, every student in the Omaha Public School District can eat free breakfast and lunch. They don’t know what lawmakers are talking about—numbers from the IRS or Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) to determine the poverty level in their schools.

Anyway, they just know they can have lunch.

“When you serve free meals to students all over the world, it means there are fewer students who are considered poor in the dining hall,” said Eric Savaiano of Nebraska Appleseed. “That means the stigma around those poor students is greatly reduced.”

Lawmakers and educators are also discussing formulas to get reimbursed from the federal government for the hamburgers diners put on their plates.

“Participation in CEP could lead to an increase in state aid for schools,” said Shane Rhian of Omaha Public Schools. “That’s what happened to our district this year.”

Testimony at the legislative hearing revealed that the federal government reimburses schools for their breakfast and lunch programs at different rates, depending on how much the student pays.

The average cost of a school lunch across the country is about $3.50. For students who pay full price, schools get $0.42 back. For reduced lunch, they are reimbursed $4.03 – for students who receive free lunch, it is $4.33.

The average cost of breakfast in Nebraska schools is about $2.50. Full price sets schools back $0.39, while $2.07 comes back for reduced fares and $2.37 for students who eat free.

Lawmakers want to make sure every eligible student in the state gets breakfast and lunch, but not every school district in the state participates in the program.

“According to the most recent data shared by the Nebraska Department of Education, which was 2024-2025, there are 156 districts in Nebraska that have at least one school eligible to participate in CEP,” said Nebraska State Senator Jana Hughes. “Among those with eligible schools, only 21 opted in to CEP, meaning 87 percent of eligible districts still have schools where student hunger could be addressed with increased federal reimbursement through CEP.”

Lawmakers say that’s concerning because more students are getting free meals, which means more students need them.

“This is important because poverty has recently gone down, it’s actually gone up,” Senator Hughes said. “We’ve seen our food banks, certainly our school districts, recognize that there are students who are hungry, and this is a tool that allows them to serve free meals to students all over the world.”

The state board of education will conduct a study and report its findings with recommendations to the legislature.

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