8.3 Million More School Meals Being Served In MA

Participation in school meals continued to climb during the 2024-25 school year, the third year of state-supported universal free school meals, according to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Education.

"Preliminary data for the 2024-25 school year show an 11,000 increase in the number of students eating school lunch each day and a 20,000 increase in the number of students eating school breakfast compared to the prior year," the office said in a media release.

"Data for the most recent complete year available, the 2023-24 school year, show an increase of $8.3 million meals served compared to the 2022-23 school year," the release said. "With support from a combination of state and federal funding, 7 out of 10 students in Massachusetts eat a free and healthy breakfast or lunch at school."

To highlight the work in school cafeterias, Wilmington Public Schools was awarded the 2025 Massachusetts Terrific Tray of the Year award.

"This recognition from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and Massachusetts Farm to School celebrates the district’s rotisserie chicken meal, which featured locally sourced food from Massachusetts and other parts of New England," the release said. “These appealing and healthy meals help fuel students’ bodies and minds for learning.”

Total meals served and participation from the second year of universal free school meals in Massachusetts (2023-24):

• 101.7 million total lunches
• 584,000 students ate lunch every school day
• 48.6 million total breakfasts
• 272,000 students ate breakfast every school day