All students in Seattle Public Schools will have access to free breakfasts and lunches at school, possibly as soon as September, following two weeks of back-and-forth negotiations among Seattle City Council members and Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson. At one point, it appeared the program, one of Wilson’s priorities, would not launch until at least the 2027-28 school year.
But last week the council approved the $5 million needed to start the program during the 2026-27 school year. With a 9-0 vote, the council approved funds to provide meals for kids during the school day and to feed low-income students on weekends and during school breaks.
Two important supports for families
According to a statement from the Mayor’s office, the council vote sealed together Mayor Wilson’s goal of universal school meals and councilmembers’ goal of ensuring “food insecure students” are covered outside of the classroom.
“We are making universal school meals a reality for Seattle this September, and students who most need it will have greater access to food on weekends and school breaks,” said Wilson. “Feeding every student in Seattle is a goal the City Council and I share, and I am grateful we were able to work together to find a fiscally responsible path forward. This is a tremendous victory for families across our city that will make Seattle more affordable.”
For the 2026-2027 school year, the cost of universal free school meals will be covered by using “one-time” funds. Then, in 2027-2028, Seattle’s Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise (FEPP) Levy will fund that program. The levy will also pay for food for the weekend and school break nutrition for “insecure students outside the classroom.”
“We are united in rejecting the notion that we have to choose between feeding students during school or outside of the classroom,” Councilmember Dan Strauss said in a release. “We can, and we must do both.”
Seattle City Council President Joy Hollingsworth echoed those sentiments: “Expanding food access through school breaks and weekends is vital to supporting children and families. This targeted approach helps close food gaps by providing grocery access to families facing the greatest barriers while building on the foundation of school meals. This investment gives families the dignity to choose the foods that best meet their household’s nutritional, cultural, and dietary needs while helping stretch family budgets during the times when school meals are unavailable.”
According to the Mayor’s office release: “Seattle Public Schools already provides free breakfast and lunch at 51 schools through existing federal and state meal programs. These schools are concentrated in neighborhoods with higher rates of poverty. Last school year, 53 schools did not offer universal school meals, and this proposal would close that gap for the more than 6,800 food-insecure students who attend those schools.”
What parents need to do
According to Seattle Public Schools policy, families interested in receiving food assistance must complete a meal eligibility application. The collected data is reviewed to determine how much the state and federal governments will reimburse districts for meals and food assistance.
What’s next
The $5 million in additional funding for universal free school meals will be considered as part of the Midyear Supplemental Budget Legislation, according to the Mayor’s office. A vote on the budget is scheduled for Tuesday, August 4 at 9:30 a.m.
