School Lunch Debt Statistics
Summary
Report Highlights. The national public school meal debt is $262 million a year.
- 30.4 million students can’t afford their school meals.
- The average meal debt per child is $180.6, yearly.
- 68.8% of surveyed schools had unpaid student meal debt.
- 96% of surveyed school districts reported an annual increase in the number of students who couldn’t afford meals.
Source: Education Data Initiative (2024). School Lunch Debt Statistics.