The Effect of Free School Meals on Household Food Purchases: Evidence from the Community Eligibility Provision

Abstract

We find evidence that exposure to universal free school meals through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) had a meaningful impact on grocery spending for households with children, with monthly food purchases declining by about $11, or 5 percent. For households in zip codes with higher exposure, the decline is as high as $39 per month, or 19 percent. We also show evidence that the composition of food purchases changes, with low income households experiencing an increase in the dietary quality of their food purchases by about 3 percent after CEP. Finally, we show CEP exposure is associated with an 11 percent decline in the percent of households that ran short of money or tried to make their food money go further, and an almost 5 percent decline in households classified as food insecure. Our results on the heterogeneous effects of CEP exposure by prior free/reduced price lunch eligibility reveal large benefits in terms of both spending, dietary composition, and food insecurity for previously eligible low-income families, suggesting that the stigma of free school meals may be declining after universal access.