Recent federal changes enacted under the H.R. 1 Public Law 119-21 in 2025 restricting eligibility to SNAP benefits and Medicaid may threaten federal support for the state’s meal programs, according to a report from New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
As of May 2026, more than 1.9 million New York students participated in the school lunch program — the third most in the nation. In the Federal Fiscal Year 2025, New York received more than $1.1 billion in federal funding to support the program.
However, Public Law 119-21 tightens SNAP and Medicaid eligibility parameters, expanding work requirements and increasing the frequency with which some recipients must renew their coverage.
Because SNAP and Medicaid enrollment are used to determine eligibility for Community Eligibility Provision — which allows schools to provide free meals to students — declines in participation could also mean a decline in eligibility for free school meals.
“Hunger should never prevent children from learning in school,” DiNapoli said. “The universal school meal program is a great success in New York, but it depends on continued partnership between the state and the federal government.”
The CEP program currently allows schools, groups of schools or districts that meet certain conditions to provide free school meals to all students, not just those that fall under 130 percent of the Federal Poverty level.
According to DiNapoli, changing this law may not only make it harder to qualify for benefits, but also increase costs of the existing universal meal program for New York State.
“If the number of students qualifying for these federal programs drops, the state’s financial responsibility for maintaining the universal school meal program is likely to grow,” said the Office of the State Comptroller in a press release on Oct. 15.
New York State has already seen those qualifying numbers drop.
From January 2025 to February 2026, the number of SNAP participants decreased by 6.2 percent. That drop has been attributed to federal changes, rather due to a decrease in need, according to citylimits.org.
Drops in SNAP eligibility and subsequent financial strain on the CEP program will continue to be monitored across the state.
