School mealsFY2025 and FY2026 to date
How much does the US spend on school lunches?
$33.4 billion in fiscal year 2025: 0.48% of all federal spending.That is about $98 per US resident, or $205 per individual tax return. In FY2026 through August 2026 it spent $31.7 billion, up 1% on the same months of FY2025 ($31.4 billion). Treasury figures for the Child Nutrition Programs.
By year
School meals and child nutrition: $21.0 billion in FY2015, $33.4 billion in FY2025
Net outlays by fiscal year (October to September), nominal dollars · FY2026* = to August 2026
Every year as a table, with the share of federal outlays
| Fiscal year | Net outlays | Share of federal outlays |
|---|---|---|
| FY2026 to Aug '26 | $31.7 billion | 0.47% |
| FY2025 | $33.4 billion | 0.48% |
| FY2024 | $32.7 billion | 0.48% |
| FY2023 | $29.2 billion | 0.48% |
| FY2022 | $37.2 billion | 0.59% |
| FY2021 | $25.8 billion | 0.38% |
| FY2020 | $22.7 billion | 0.35% |
| FY2019 | $23.3 billion | 0.52% |
| FY2018 | $22.8 billion | 0.56% |
| FY2017 | $22.5 billion | 0.56% |
| FY2016 | $22.0 billion | 0.57% |
| FY2015 | $21.0 billion | 0.57% |
U.S. Treasury, Monthly Treasury Statement, Table 5.
By month
Largest month: June 2026, $3.7 billion
Net outlays in each month. Large one-month amounts are usually lump-sum transfers or accounting adjustments.
Monthly figures as a table
| Month | Outlays in the month | Fiscal year to date |
|---|---|---|
| August 2026 | $1.8 billion | $31.7 billion |
| July 2026 | $2.4 billion | $30.0 billion |
| June 2026 | $3.7 billion | $27.5 billion |
| May 2026 | $3.3 billion | $23.8 billion |
| April 2026 | $2.9 billion | $20.5 billion |
| March 2026 | $3.0 billion | $17.5 billion |
| February 2026 | $2.6 billion | $14.5 billion |
| January 2026 | $2.5 billion | $11.9 billion |
| December 2025 | $3.3 billion | $9.5 billion |
| November 2025 | $3.1 billion | $6.1 billion |
| October 2025 | $3.0 billion | $3.0 billion |
| September 2025 | $2.0 billion | $33.4 billion |
| August 2025 | $1.5 billion | $31.4 billion |
| July 2025 | $2.3 billion | $29.9 billion |
| June 2025 | $3.5 billion | $27.6 billion |
| May 2025 | $3.6 billion | $24.1 billion |
| April 2025 | $2.8 billion | $20.5 billion |
| March 2025 | $2.8 billion | $17.7 billion |
| February 2025 | $2.3 billion | $14.9 billion |
| January 2025 | $3.5 billion | $12.6 billion |
| December 2024 | $3.4 billion | $9.1 billion |
| November 2024 | $2.8 billion | $5.8 billion |
| October 2024 | $3.0 billion | $3.0 billion |
| September 2024 | $1.9 billion | $32.7 billion |
U.S. Treasury, Monthly Treasury Statement, Table 5.
School meals and other food aid
Net outlays from the same Treasury table.
| Account | FY2015 | FY2025 | FY2026 so far |
|---|---|---|---|
| SNAP | $76.1B | $106.3B | $87.9B |
| School meals (child nutrition) | $21.0B | $33.4B | $31.7B |
| WIC | $6.3B | $8.0B | $7.1B |
| All food and nutrition | $104.0B | $148.3B | $127.2B |
On your tax bill
Federal spending is paid for by all taxes and borrowing together, so each dollar of federal income tax is split in proportion to spending. School meals and child nutrition took 0.48% of it in FY2025.
| Income | Income tax | To school meals and child nutrition |
|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,620 | $12.47 |
| $60,000 | $5,020 | $23.90 |
| $75,000 | $7,670 | $36.52 |
| $100,000 | $13,170 | $62.70 |
| $150,000 | $24,734 | $118 |
What this counts
Outlays of USDA's Child Nutrition Programs account: the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, summer meals and related programs. It pays schools and providers a set amount per meal served, with more for free and reduced-price meals. Treasury reports these programs as one line.
Figures are net outlays: payments made, minus any offsetting collections credited to the same accounts, as printed in the Monthly Treasury Statement. They are not adjusted for inflation. In the budget-function view it falls under welfare, food stamps and income support.
Questions and answers
- How much does the US spend on school meals and child nutrition a year?
- $33.4 billion in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), in net outlays recorded by the Treasury for the Child Nutrition Programs. In FY2024 it was $32.7 billion.
- What share of the federal budget goes to school meals and child nutrition?
- 0.48% of all federal outlays in FY2025 ($33.4 billion of $7.01 trillion): about $5 of every $1,000 the government spent.
- How much is that per person?
- About $98 per US resident in FY2025, or $91.4 million a day.
- How much does school meals and child nutrition cost per taxpayer?
- About $205 per individual income tax return: $33.4 billion divided by the 162.8 million individual returns the IRS received in FY2025. Federal spending is paid for by all taxes and borrowing together, so this is an average, not what any one taxpayer pays; your tax receipt shows your own share.
- How much has been spent on school meals and child nutrition in 2026?
- In FY2026 through August 2026 it spent $31.7 billion, up 1% on the same months of FY2025 ($31.4 billion). Fiscal year 2026 ended on 30 September 2026; the September statement, published in mid-October, completes it.
- Has spending on school meals and child nutrition gone up?
- From $21.0 billion in FY2015 to $33.4 billion in FY2025, +59% in nominal dollars.
- Is this the budget or actual spending?
- Actual spending: outlays are what the Treasury paid out in each fiscal year. The budget Congress passes sets budget authority (what an agency may commit), which can be spent over several years, so appropriations in the news can differ from these figures.
Related
- SNAP (food stamps)by year and state
- Supplemental Security Incomeby year
- Earned Income Tax Creditby year
- Unemployment insuranceby year
- Child Tax Creditby year
- TANF cash welfareby year
- What % of taxes go to welfare, food stamps and income supportby year
- Every federal program62 programs
Sources and notes
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Monthly Treasury Statement, Table 5: Outlays of the U.S. Government, line "Child Nutrition Programs", every month from March 2015 to 2026-08-31, Fiscal Data API. Public domain.
- Per tax return: 162,754,810 individual income tax returns filed in FY2025, IRS Data Book Table 1-2.
- Population: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates, 50 states and DC.
- Tax on your bill: 2026 IRS brackets and standard deduction (Rev. Proc. 2025-32 as amended), as in our calculator.