Free school lunch eligibility could change for Jacksonville-area students under new proposal

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Thousands of students in Florida who normally qualify for free or reduced lunch could be in danger of losing their benefits if a new SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefit change goes into effect.

Right now, children automatically get free lunches if their family receives food stamps, but that could change if a new proposal by the Trump administration passes.

The proposal would limit the number of people who can use their SNAP benefits by changing a family’s eligibility.

“That’s going to be terrible. I mean poor children and their families, especially for the parents, that honestly rely on that,” Juanita Rivera said.

Rivera is a mother of five and she knows how hard it can be to feed a family.

For some kids, the free or reduced lunch and breakfast maybe the only meal that child will receive that day.

Under the new proposal, families whose kids are on free or reduced lunch would still qualify for meals, but they would not be automatically approved like they are now. Instead, they would have to apply for the benefits.

Action News Jax contacted local school districts to see how this could impact them.

• Duval County Public Schools has 126 schools that offer free or reduced lunches and they told Action News Jax that at this time, it’s too early to tell what the potential impact is for any changes to SNAP.
• The St. Johns County School District said the proposed changes could impact some of their students directly certified for free meals. Nearly 3,000 of their students rely on SNAP benefits.
• In Clay County, the district says they use the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) so any changes to SNAP would not affect their 20 schools where students eat free of charge with no application. They currently have about about 6,500 students on SNAP benefits.

Parents like Rivera told Action News Jax whatever happens with this new proposal, children should not go hungry at school.

“Some families do depend on it. What happens if they’re $50 over qualified or $100 qualified, it should be helpful for the children. It’s not the children’s fault,” she said.

At this time, local school districts tell us it’s unclear which of their SNAP benefit students would be impacted by this proposed change.

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