COLUMBIA — Every K-12 student in South Carolina’s public schools will be able to eat breakfast for free this year with funding included in the state budget.
The $2.8 million included in the spending package that went into effect Monday is expected to cover the cost of breakfasts this school year for all students who don’t already qualify under another program, regardless of their parents’ income, according to the Department of Education.
“Every student deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential, and access to a healthy breakfast is one important way to support that goal,” agency spokesman Kinard Lisbon said in a statement.
The agency is still determining the exact number of cafeteria meals the money will cover and the details of rolling out the program, Lisbon said.
Gov. Henry McMaster recommended paying for all students’ breakfasts in his budget proposal at the beginning of the year.
In his executive budget, the governor suggested spending $8.7 million to cover an estimated 4.1 million meals, saying every student should get breakfast for free at school.
In actuality, because of federal funding that already provides free meals to most students, McMaster’s budget proposal would have been enough to also provide lunches at no cost across the state, according to the Department of Education.
“Providing students with access to breakfast at school will help ensure they have the support they need to focus, learn, and succeed in the classroom,” McMaster said in a statement to the SC Daily Gazette about the Legislature’s designation.
Students can already receive free meals at school if their parents’ income is 130% of the federal poverty level or less. For a family of four, that’s $42,900 or less each year.
If a quarter of a school district’s population meets that requirement, the district can sign up for a federal program that allows every student to receive free meals without needing to apply.
Just one school district, Fort Mill (York 4), doesn’t qualify for the federal program. During the 2025-2026 school year, 10 qualifying districts opted not to participate, though all but one offered the program at some schools, according to state Department of Education data.
The districts that haven’t signed up pointed to the cost of running the program. The federal government pays for a portion of the meals, but districts must make up the rest, depending on how many students qualify.
The extra state funding will make sure that’s no longer a concern.
“This is one of the best investments in K-12 in this year’s budget,” said Patrick Kelly, lobbyist for Palmetto State Teachers Association.
If a student’s physical needs aren’t meant, such as eating a balanced meal in the mornings, they aren’t going to be able to learn as much or perform as well in the classroom as their peers, said Kelly, who also teaches advanced government classes in Blythewood.
“It’s impossible to learn and do the work of learning if a student is hungry,” Kelly said.
Making the program widely available could help reach students who qualify but whose parents didn’t know about the help, said Sue Berkowitz, director of policy for Appleseed Legal Justice Center. In districts that don’t offer free meals at every school, parents must submit an application.
Even if a student’s family doesn’t qualify for free meals, the offer can make life a little easier, Berkowitz said.
Many families live just above the cutoff line for certain benefits, meaning they might be struggling to pay their bills as well, she said. All families have seen grocery prices, along with other costs, rise with inflation in recent years.
“All families can use that help right now,” Berkowitz said.
At the same time, the number of people using grocery benefits has decreased, helping fewer people keep their pantries stocked, she said.
Last month, more than 235,200 families (with nearly 482,000 total South Carolinians) received federal grocery aid. That’s about 35,000 fewer households — 83,000 fewer people — than a year earlier, according to state Department of Social Services data.
Students whose families are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps, automatically qualify for free meals, meaning students whose parents stopped receiving SNAP might also lose their school meals, according to the federal think tank Food Research and Action Center.
Statewide free breakfast “couldn’t have come at a better time,” Berkowitz said.
Berkowitz hopes future budgets make all meals free for all students, she said.
“Kids need lunch, too,” Berkowitz said.
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