Tulsa, Okla. (July 7, 2025) – Today, Ryan Walters put out an email to Oklahoma parents informing them that every child in Oklahoma should have access to no-cost school meals (OSDE release). While we share the end goal, we do not agree it can be achieved by this proposed approach. Hunger Free Oklahoma has taken consistent action in pursuit of universal school meals, including work on legislation in the most recent legislative sessions. We proposed universal meals by leveraging existing federal programs, adding additional state funds for districts that could not feed every child without additional state funds, and partnering with local food growers and producers, because we know that no-cost meals help students succeed and reduce barriers for families.
Our Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) report, released in June, shows that Oklahoma schools have made major progress in leveraging federal resources. With the inclusion of SoonerCare (Medicaid) data in CEP eligibility calculations, participation has more than doubled—from 382 schools last year to 849 this year—resulting in nearly 300,000 students gaining access to no-cost breakfast and lunch. This is an example of what is possible when state policy and investment align with federal opportunity.
The reality is that eligibility for programs like CEP is not the same as feasibility and for many schools the gap between the cost of food service and the reimbursement for universal school meals is not workable without additional investment from the state. You can read our full analysis and recommendations about universal meals in the CEP report here.
Put simply, ensuring every child has access to no cost meals every school day and throughout the summer is a goal we should all share and that we can achieve, but it will take additional investment from our state and leveraging every federal dollar available to make it happen.
Hunger Free Oklahoma remains committed to working with all partners to ensure that no child in our state has to learn while distracted by hunger.
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Hunger Free Oklahoma is an anti-hunger organization dedicated to improving food access for all Oklahoma. HFO leverages the power of collaboration to solve hunger in Oklahoma by improving systems, policies, and practices. Learn more at HungerFreeOK.org.