# 119-hr-2680: Expanding Access to School Meals Act of 2025

119-hr-2680, Expanding Access to School Meals Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5] (D-NJ); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-02).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2680
- As of: 2026-09-02
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-2680
- Congress: 119
- Title: Expanding Access to School Meals Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-04-07
- Sponsor: Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5] (D-NJ)
- Cosponsors: 48
- Policy area: Agriculture and Food
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-02

## Summary

**This bill would expand free school meals by eliminating reduced-price meal categories and raising the income cutoff so many more children qualify for free breakfasts and lunches. It would also create new direct-certification paths, change school reimbursement rules, and raise the Community Eligibility Provision multiplier.** - Families and students: Families with incomes up to 224% of the poverty level would have children eligible for free meals, replacing the prior 130% reduced-price threshold. - Schools and local educational agencies: The bill would remove reimbursements for reduced-price meals and require school food authorities to revise past meal claims so newly certified students can be reimbursed retroactively. - State and local agencies: Schools could directly certify children for free meals based on TANF, certain Medicaid-linked eligibility, homelessness, foster care, migratory or runaway youth status, SSI, adoption assistance, or kinship guardianship assistance. The bill would require interagency agreements to implement Medicaid-based direct certification and raise the Community Eligibility Provision multiplier to 2.5.

## Cosponsors (48)

- Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6] (D-MI), 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Adams, Alma S. [D-NC-12] (D-NC), 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-10] (D-CA), 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7] (D-IN), 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28] (D-CA), 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Huffman, Jared [D-CA-2] (D-CA), 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6] (D-MA), 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Sherrill, Mikie [D-NJ-11] (D-NJ), 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Smith, Adam [D-WA-9] (D-WA), 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25] (D-FL), 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Stevens, Haley M. [D-MI-11] (D-MI), 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI), 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Evans, Dwight [D-PA-3] (D-PA), 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Suozzi, Thomas R. [D-NY-3] (D-NY), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7] (D-IL), 2025-10-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bishop, Sanford D. [D-GA-2] (D-GA), 2025-10-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McBride, Sarah [D-DE-At Large] (D-DE), 2025-10-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bell, Wesley [D-MO-1] (D-MO), 2025-10-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Garamendi, John [D-CA-8] (D-CA), 2025-10-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7] (D-AL), 2025-10-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Frankel, Lois [D-FL-22] (D-FL), 2025-10-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Goldman, Daniel S. [D-NY-10] (D-NY), 2025-10-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Doggett, Lloyd [D-TX-37] (D-TX), 2025-10-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McGarvey, Morgan [D-KY-3] (D-KY), 2025-10-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ansari, Yassamin [D-AZ-3] (D-AZ), 2025-10-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. DelBene, Suzan K. [D-WA-1] (D-WA), 2025-10-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Salinas, Andrea [D-OR-6] (D-OR), 2025-10-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thompson, Mike [D-CA-4] (D-CA), 2025-10-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria [D-NY-14] (D-NY), 2025-11-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24] (D-CA), 2025-11-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pettersen, Brittany [D-CO-7] (D-CO), 2025-11-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mullin, Kevin [D-CA-15] (D-CA), 2025-11-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wilson, Frederica S. [D-FL-24] (D-FL), 2025-11-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Strickland, Marilyn [D-WA-10] (D-WA), 2025-11-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Williams, Nikema [D-GA-5] (D-GA), 2025-11-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Latimer, George [D-NY-16] (D-NY), 2025-11-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Casten, Sean [D-IL-6] (D-IL), 2025-12-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Frost, Maxwell [D-FL-10] (D-FL), 2025-12-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Budzinski, Nikki [D-IL-13] (D-IL), 2025-12-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12] (D-NJ), 2026-01-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-CT), 2026-01-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Grijalva, Adelita S. [D-AZ-7] (D-AZ), 2026-01-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] (D-TN), 2026-01-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Subramanyam, Suhas [D-VA-10] (D-VA), 2026-03-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ-8] (D-NJ), 2026-08-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Costa, Jim [D-CA-21] (D-CA), 2026-08-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Jackson, Jonathan L. [D-IL-1] (D-IL), 2026-08-31T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Automatic free meals for Medicaid and more: benefit, medium. Schools could approve free meals without a new form for some children. Covered groups would include TANF, homeless or runaway youth, migratory, foster care, and certain Medicaid-linked cases. Medicaid children with family income at or below 224% of poverty could be directly certified. States would…
- More meal money for CEP schools: benefit, medium. If your child’s school uses the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), it would get more federal money per meal. The bill would set the CEP multiplier at 2.5. This could help schools keep offering free meals to all students. The change would apply to school years starting on or after July 1, 2025.
- More free meals, reduced-price would end: mixed, high. The bill would raise the income limit for free school lunches to 224% of the poverty line (up from 130%). It would end the reduced-price option for breakfast and lunch. Families at or below 224% of poverty could get free meals. If your income is above 224%, your child would pay the full price. Thes…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act
- 119-hr-15: Equality Act
- 119-hr-1589: American Dream and Promise Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-2680 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2680)

## Related
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-20)
- [119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5390)
- [119-hr-15: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-15)
- [119-hr-1589: American Dream and Promise Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1589)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2680 (as of 2026-09-02).