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H.R. 8798: Universal School Meals Program Act of 2026

The Universal School Meals Program Act of 2026 is a proposed legislation designed to enhance nutrition support for school-aged children by introducing several key changes to existing school meal programs. Below are the main components of the bill as summarized from the provided chunks.

Free Meals for Children

The bill aims to ensure that all children enrolled in participating schools have access to free breakfast and lunch. This initiative seeks to eliminate barriers to healthy meals for students, particularly those from low-income families.

Elimination of Meal Debt Collection

One of the significant changes proposed is the elimination of the collection of unpaid meal debts. This means that schools will not pursue families for outstanding balances related to school meals, alleviating financial pressure on families who might struggle to pay for their children's meals.

Nutritional Requirements

The legislation includes provisions for establishing nutritional standards for school meals. These standards are aimed at improving the quality of food served in schools, ensuring that meals are healthy and balanced to support the well-being and academic performance of students.

Amendments to the National School Lunch Act

In addition to the overarching themes of meal accessibility and nutrition, the bill proposes amendments to the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. These amendments focus on:

Afterschool Meal Provisions: Enhancements to afterschool meal programs are suggested to better serve children in afterschool settings.
Reimbursement Rates: The bill proposes adjustments to reimbursement rates for free meals, which would likely provide schools with better financial support for their meal programs.
Definitions Related to Economic Disadvantage: Updates to definitions concerning economically disadvantaged students are included to better target support where it is needed most.

Program Outreach and Reporting

The bill also emphasizes the importance of outreach efforts to ensure that eligible families are aware of the available meal programs. To bolster program effectiveness, a reimbursement program for schools facing delinquent meal debts is proposed, along with the establishment of a comprehensive reporting structure to track program outcomes and utilization.

Inflation Adjustments

Recognizing the economic environment, the bill incorporates adjustments for inflation, aimed at ensuring that school meal programs remain financially viable and capable of meeting the needs of students over time.

Relevant Companies

NDA - A company that might be impacted through its involvement in school nutrition services or supply delivery.

This is an AI-generated summary of the bill text. There may be mistakes.

Actions

2 actions

Date	Action
May. 13, 2026	Introduced in House
May. 13, 2026	Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

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