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More students gain eligibility for free school meals under expanded US program
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FILE - Second-grade students select their meals during lunch break in the cafeteria, Dec. 12, 2022, at an elementary school in Scottsdale, Ariz. More students in schools serving low-income communities will be eligible to receive breakfast and lunch at no cost under a rule change announced Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. - photo by AP Photo/Alberto Mariani, File
WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of additional students in schools serving low-income communities will be eligible to receive breakfast and lunch at no cost under a rule change announced Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. At schools where 25% of families participate in income-based public benefits, such as the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, the federal government now will cover the cost of free meals for all enrolled students. Previously, the qualifying threshold was 40%.