Notice2026-06842
Child Nutrition Programs: Income Eligibility Guidelines
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 9, 2026
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentFood and Nutrition Service
Abstract
This notice announces the Department's annual adjustments to the Income Eligibility Guidelines to be used in determining eligibility for free and reduced-price meals, free milk, and Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) benefits for the period from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. These guidelines are used by schools, institutions, and facilities participating in the National School Lunch Program (and Commodity School Program), School Breakfast Program, Special Milk Program for Children, Child and Adult Care Food Program, and Summer Food Service Program, as well as for States and Indian Tribal Organizations that administer the Summer EBT for Children Program. The annual adjustments are required by section 9 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. The guidelines are intended to direct benefits to those children most in need and are revised annually to account for changes in the Consumer Price Index.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 68 (Thursday, April 9, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 68 (Thursday, April 9, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17932-17935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-06842]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Child Nutrition Programs: Income Eligibility Guidelines
AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the Department's annual adjustments to
the Income Eligibility Guidelines to be used in determining eligibility
for free and reduced-price meals, free milk, and Summer Electronic
Benefit Transfer (EBT) benefits for the period from July 1, 2026
through June 30, 2027. These guidelines are used by schools,
institutions, and facilities participating in the National School Lunch
Program (and Commodity School Program), School Breakfast Program,
Special Milk Program for Children, Child and Adult Care Food Program,
and Summer Food Service Program, as well as for States and Indian
Tribal Organizations that administer the Summer EBT for Children
Program. The annual adjustments are required by section 9 of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. The guidelines are
intended to direct benefits to those children most in need and are
revised annually to account for changes in the Consumer Price Index.
DATES: July 1, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Penny Burke, Program Monitoring and
Operational Support Division, Child Nutrition Programs, Food and
Nutrition Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 1320
Braddock Place, Suite 401, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. Tel. (720) 822-
8597.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action is not a rule as defined by the
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612) and thus is exempt from
the provisions of that Act.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3507), no recordkeeping or reporting
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requirements have been included that are subject to approval from the
Office of Management and Budget.
The affected programs are listed in the Assistance Listings
(<a href="https://sam.gov/">https://sam.gov/</a>) under No. 10.553, No. 10.555, No. 10.556, No.
10.558, and No. 10.559 and are subject to the provisions of Executive
Order 12372, which requires intergovernmental consultation with State
and local officials. (See 2 CFR part 415).
Background
Pursuant to sections 9(b)(1), 13A(h)(2), and 17(c)(4) of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(1), 42
U.S.C. 1762(h)(2), and 42 U.S.C. 1766(c)(4)), and sections 3(a)(6) and
4(e)(1)(A) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1772(a)(6) and
1773(e)(1)(A)), the Department annually issues the Income Eligibility
Guidelines for free and reduced-price meals for the National School
Lunch Program (7 CFR part 210), the Commodity School Program (7 CFR
part 210), School Breakfast Program (7 CFR part 220), Summer Food
Service Program (7 CFR part 225), and Child and Adult Care Food Program
(7 CFR part 226), free milk in the Special Milk Program for Children (7
CFR part 215), and program benefits in the Summer EBT Program (7 CFR
part 292). These eligibility guidelines are based on the Federal income
poverty guidelines and are stated by household size. The guidelines are
used to determine eligibility for free and reduced-price meals, free
milk, and Summer EBT benefits in accordance with applicable program
rules.
Definition of Income
In accordance with the Department's policy as provided in the Food
and Nutrition Service publication, Eligibility Manual for School Meals,
``income,'' as the term is used in this notice, means income before any
deductions such as income taxes, Social Security taxes, insurance
premiums, charitable contributions, and bonds. It includes the
following: (1) monetary compensation for services, including wages,
salary, commissions or fees; (2) net income from nonfarm self-
employment; (3) net income from farm self-employment; (4) Social
Security; (5) dividends or interest on savings or bonds or income from
estates or trusts; (6) net rental income; (7) public assistance or
welfare payments; (8) unemployment compensation; (9) government
civilian employee or military retirement, or pensions or veterans
payments; (10) private pensions or annuities; (11) alimony or child
support payments; (12) regular contributions from persons not living in
the household; (13) net royalties; and (14) other cash income. Other
cash income would include cash amounts received or withdrawn from any
source including savings, investments, trust accounts, and other
resources that would be available to pay the price of a child's meal.
``Income,'' as the term is used in this notice, does not include
any income or benefits received under any Federal programs that are
excluded from consideration as income by any statutory prohibition.
Furthermore, the value of meals, milk, or EBT benefits to children
shall not be considered as income to their households for other benefit
programs in accordance with the prohibitions in section 12(e) of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and section 11(b) of the
Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1760(e) and 1780(b)).
The Income Eligibility Guidelines
The following are the Income Eligibility Guidelines to be effective
from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The Department's guidelines
for free meals and milk, and reduced price meals were obtained by
multiplying the year 2026 Federal income poverty guidelines by 1.30 and
1.85, respectively, and by rounding the result upward to the next whole
dollar.
This notice displays only the annual Federal poverty guidelines
issued by the Department of Health and Human Services because the
monthly and weekly Federal poverty guidelines are not used to determine
the Income Eligibility Guidelines. The chart details the free and
reduced price eligibility criteria for monthly income, income received
twice monthly (24 payments per year), income received every two weeks
(26 payments per year), and weekly income.
Income calculations are made based on the following formulas:
monthly income is calculated by dividing the annual income by 12; twice
monthly income is computed by dividing annual income by 24; income
received every two weeks is calculated by dividing annual income by 26;
and weekly income is computed by dividing annual income by 52. All
numbers are rounded upward to the next whole dollar. The numbers
reflected in this notice for a family of four in the 48 contiguous
States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the territories represent
an increase of 2.6 percent over last year's level for a family of the
same size.
Authority: Section 9(b)(1) of the Richard B. Russell National
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758 (b)(1)).
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN09AP26.001
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Patrick A. Penn,
Deputy Under Secretary, Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services.
[FR Doc. 2026-06842 Filed 4-8-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-C
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