Free school lunches to end for thousands of Miami-Dade students. Here’s what to know

Education admin July 22, 2026 0 Comments

Free school lunches to end for thousands of Miami-Dade students. Here’s what to know

For the last few years, all Miami-Dade County public school students received free breakfast and lunch. That’s about to change.

The Miami-Dade school board approved an item at its Wednesday meeting that would The plan does, however, keep free breakfast for kindergarten through eighth grade.

The move comes as the number of “direct certified” students, or students whose families are enrolled in food assistance programs like SNAP, Medicaid and other federal programs, has drastically decreased in Miami-Dade County

The federal government will foot the bill for student meals when 62.5% of district students are direct certified. In 2022, analysis found that 64% of public school students were direct certified, which means that the federal government fully reimbursed all student meals in the district for four years. In an analysis done this year, that percentage fell to 45.1%.

Under federal guidelines, 121 schools within the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system will continue to offer free meals to all students.

Full prices for public school students who don’t qualify for free or reduced meals are $4.20 for lunch and $2.50 for breakfast. The reduced price is 30 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch.

Why there are fewer ‘direct certified’ students in the district

There are several reasons for the sharp drop in percentage of students who are direct certified, according to Chief Operating Officer Luis Diaz.

In an interview with the Herald, he cited family migration out of the area due to cost of living, a decline in the number of immigrant students and changing federal guidelines for welfare programs.

Changes in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” passed last year and supported by President Donald Trump and most GOP members of Congress, have cut federal funding for SNAP and will cut funding for Medicaid next year.

An analysis from the Florida Policy Institute shows that the SNAP caseload has dropped in every Florida county, including a 10% decline in Miami-Dade County, from July 2025 to December 2026.

While the recent data shows that only about 45% of students are direct certified, there are still about 30% that qualify for reduced price meals.

The agenda item instituting the change for the upcoming school year was included in the board’s consent agenda, and there was no board discussion of the matter at its Wednesday meeting.

Nancy Vega, Vice President of Advocacy and Legislation for the Miami-Dade County Council of PTAs, was the lone member of the public slated to speak on the item Wednesday.

“We understand that Miami-Dade County Public Schools must adjust meal pricing because our district no longer meets the federal 62.5% direct certification threshold required for universal free meals,” she said. “However… our priority and yours must remain the same: No child should ever go hungry at school, and no family should be confused or blind-sided by changes that affect their children’s access to meals.”

She asked that the district provide “clear, parent-friendly communication in multiple languages” on the changes, an “accessible application process,” and a grace period for families navigating the transition.

What should parents do?

Students who are direct certified for free lunch due to their family’s enrollment in federal assistance programs will not need to apply to get free school meals, nor will students attending the 121 schools designated to keep free meals for the entire student population.

Diaz said there is a 30-day grace period for students where all lunches will be provided free of charge.

“We’re really trying to use all the angles possible to try to minimize as much as possible the impact of cost for next year, because for the last four years there has been none. But the reality is there is a financial burden to it, and we have to be fiduciary about that as well,” Diaz said.

Diaz said the district will pursue an outreach effort to parents to alert them of the change. Applications for families who might qualify for free or reduced school meals but are not in the direct certified population open Aug. 10, he said.

Diaz said the district will use its parent portal to get the message out to parents, and will train staff at each school to walk parents through the process. He said the easiest way for parents to get any questions about the change answered is for them to reach out to their individual school.