New eligibility requirements force district to cancel free lunches at 33 schools, HISD says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- On Monday, thousands of Houston ISD students will go without free school lunch after the federal government tightened eligibility requirements for SNAP benefits, according to Katherine Byers with the Houston Food Bank.

"There was a belief that not enough individuals who participated in SNAP were working, and the fact is the overwhelming majority of people who are participating in that program work," Byers said.

According to a study by Rice University, between 2025 and 2026, 155,000 fewer people are eligible for SNAP in Houston because of those changes. Rice found more than half that number are children.

How many HISD students qualify for SNAP determines if a campus qualifies for the Community Eligibility Provision Program, or CEP.

According to the USDA, CEP is a federal program that automatically ensures campuses can give all students free breakfast and lunch if at least a quarter of students are on SNAP.

With fewer students on SNAP, HISD announced this summer that they are forced to stop automatic free lunch at 33 campuses.

Now, families will have to apply for free or reduced lunch. There is no guarantee they'll get it.

"Children are not going to develop physically or mentally as well as they should. This is ultimately going to impact how well they do in school, which is going to impact our future workforce," Byers said.

Eyewitness News found the majority of the 33 campuses impacted are inside the loop and west of downtown.

HISD said the majority of its 250 campuses will still be part of CEP and that parents can apply for free and reduced lunch through the Free/Reduced-Price Meal Application.

"Not only does that increase bureaucracy for schools that they are having to do all these applications, but it means that some families who were right on the cusp of qualifying may have to end up figuring out how they are going to pay for their child's lunch," Byers said.

HISD says breakfast will remain free at all its campuses.