Food and Nutrition Programs

School Breakfast Programs

What Is the School Breakfast Program?

The School Breakfast Program (SBP) is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and non-profit private schools and residential child care institutions. All schools in Massachusetts participating in the National School Lunch Program must also offer the School Breakfast Program to their students at no cost.

What Schools and Institutions Can Participate?

Public schools or non-profit private schools of high school grade or under and residential child care institutions that are a National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Sponsor must participate in the SBP. If you don't currently provide meals through NLSP you can learn more about how to apply to serve meals in NLSP and SBP.

Are Schools Required to Provide Breakfast During the School Day?

With the passage of universal free school meals in Massachusetts in 2023, the requirements for school breakfast were updated to align with prior legislative efforts to improve access to school breakfast. "An Act Regarding Breakfast After the Bell", enacted in 2020, requires all schools with 60% or more free and reduced price eligibility to offer breakfast "after the instructional day has begun and the tardy bell rings". The Breakfast After the Bell language was also included in the State Fiscal Year 2024 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Budget (General Law - Part I, Title XII, Chapter 69, Section 1C (malegislature.gov) . FNP notifies schools annually if they are required to offer breakfast after the bell.

FNP has partnered with the Child Nutrition Outreach Program (CNOP) at Project Bread to develop the After the Bell Toolkit Series . These resources are here to help you decide which type of alternative breakfast model best suits your school(s).

What does it mean to qualify for free and reduced price meals when meals are offered at no cost?

Participating Massachusetts schools offer their students meals at no cost, but must still qualify their students for free and reduced price meals to maximize federal funding for the program. Meals of free and reduced price qualifying students are reimbursed at higher rates than students who don't meet eligibility requirements. Children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the poverty level are considered qualified for free meals. Those between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level are considered qualified for reduced-price meals. Students can also be qualified by being in certain categories. These include:

  • Living in a household receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits
  • Living in a household receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
  • Is in foster care
  • Homeless
  • Part of a Migrant Education Program (MEP)

These students automatically qualify for free school meal eligibility. In addition to helping fund school meals, qualifying students for school meal benefits can provide additional benefits for families. Qualifying for free or reduced price eligibility can be used by families to access discounts on school based programs that charge fees. This can include transportation, athletics and standardized testing fee waivers (ask at your child's school for details). Families who qualify for free and reduced price meals are also eligible for Sun Bucks , which provides money for groceries during the summer months when school is out.

Children from families with incomes over 185 percent of the poverty level of can still access meals at no cost, but are not considered eligible for free or reduced price school meals. Their meals receive a smaller subsidy from the federal government and Massachusetts provides the rest.

What Financial Reimbursement and Resources Do Schools Who Serve Meals in the SBP Receive?

  • Cash Reimbursement: Most of the support USDA and the Commonwealth provides to schools in the National School Breakfast Program comes in the form of a cash reimbursement for each meal served.
    • Federal Funds: USDA reimburses meals served to students at three different rates according to student eligibility for free, reduced price or paid.
    • Commonwealth Funds: Massachusetts reimburses meals served to students counted in the reduced price and paid categories in the amount equal to what USDA provides in the free rate, thus allowing all students to access healthy school meals at no cost.

Schools may qualify for higher "severe-need" reimbursements if a specified percentage of their meals are served free or at a reduced price. Severe-need payments are higher than the normal reimbursements for free and reduced-price breakfasts. The Commonwealth also offers qualifying schools additional reimbursements for costs in excess of the federal and state reimbursement rates.

Last Updated: March 11, 2026

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