ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A federal budget law is threatening to strip free school lunches from more than one million Georgia children, forcing families to brace for unexpected annual meal bills.

The budget changes come as students return to classrooms for the new school year, causing immediate financial and emotional anxiety for low-income parents.

Rachel Kent, a single mother whose 15-year-old son, Sterling, just started the tenth grade, is living with the heavy reality of trying to make ends meet in an increasingly expensive world.

“Myself, I’m struggling,” Kent said. “I’m a single mother to a 15-and-a-half-year-old. He eats like a vacuum. I’m applying for jobs constantly, and there’s just nothing coming back to me.”

Kent relies on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to keep Sterling fed. However, a year-old federal law called the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” tightened work requirements and added paperwork, slashing food assistance.

Advocacy groups say these cuts are creating a direct domino effect inside school cafeterias across Georgia. Under a program called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), any school where at least 25% of students are automatically enrolled in SNAP or Medicaid can provide free breakfast and lunch to every single student—no paperwork required.

But as SNAP enrollment drops, entire schools are at risk of falling below that threshold.

According to data from a new report by the Center for American Progress (CAP):

• 1,254,521 Georgia students attended schools that participated in the free-meals-for-all program (CEP) during the 2024–25 school year.
• 1,170,657 Georgia students were eligible overall for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch (FRPL).
• Only 437,630 students are directly certified for free meals because their families are actively on SNAP, Medicaid, or TANF.
• That leaves 796,137 Georgia students who do not qualify for direct certification but receive free meals solely because their school qualifies for CEP. These are the students at the highest risk of losing access if local schools lose their eligibility.

If a school loses its status and families are kicked off SNAP, parents must apply for free lunch manually. If they do not qualify, a Georgia family with two children faces an estimated median annual cost of $1,134 for school lunches.

“I think most Americans would agree that in the richest country in the world, no student should go without universal meals and should be able to be fed in this country,” said Viviann Anguiano, managing director of education olicy at CAP.

While some districts have locked in their free-meals-for-all status through 2028, child advocates warn of a slow-moving, statewide crisis once those agreements expire.

“That’s not something we’re going to see overnight,” said Carolyn Vega with No Kid Hungry. “That’s something that’s going to slowly happen over time, that we’ll see schools likely lose access and see kids lose access to school meals.”

For families on the edge, the loss of these benefits is a threat to their survival.

“It’s going to be catastrophic,” Kent said. “Depression is going to kick in for everybody. Are you taking that away? Do you think it’s okay for a kid to be hungry? It’s not.”

Despite the pressure, Kent is determined to shield Sterling from the stress.

“It’s been hard, but I keep a smile for my son,” Kent said. “I can think about the bad days, I can cry, but I have my son to support and stay positive for.”

If students are no longer directly certified through SNAP, families must submit an income-based application to keep their children from falling through the cracks.

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