A mom-of-two was stunned by the cost of school lunches after discovering how much she'd have to pay when her son started kindergarten. Kathryn Vaughn is an elementary teacher based out in rural west Tennessee. She’s been working in classrooms for 20 years, is the local president of her teaching association, and a Tennessee Education Association Distinguished Educator and Susan B.
However, it was only when her eldest child, her son Wynton, was enrolled in kindergarten that she discovered the startling cost of school lunches. Vaughn and her husband Lance were always confident Wyn would thrive in a school environment. A 2021 review published in Nutrients found school meal programs were linked to better attendance, diet quality and academic performance, while a 2017 National Bureau of Economic Research study found students served healthier lunches achieved higher test scores.
While bringing a packed lunch from home is a necessity for some, research suggests school lunches are often more nutritious. A 2024 systematic review published in Advances in Nutrition found that lunches brought from home typically contained less protein, fiber, calcium and iron, while providing more saturated fat than meals served through the National School Lunch Program. For some time, the kids at Vaughn’s elementary school, which is part of the Tipton County Schools district in Tennessee, benefited from free school lunches.
This summer, however, that changed. If Vaughn wanted Wyn to benefit from a healthy meal at school, it would cost her and the family. It was only when she sat down and crunched the numbers that Vaughn realized how much that would be.
Responding to a request for comment on Vaughn’s concerns, Rebekah Byrd, superintendent for Tipton County Schools, told Newsweek: “Tipton County Schools participates in the federal school nutrition program and follows all applicable federal and state guidelines regarding student meals. Families who meet federal income eligibility requirements may apply for free or reduced-price meals.” Vaughn said that when she pursued the issue, she was told the problem lay in the fact that “pandemic-era subsidies had run out.” She believes there are other ways they could cover the costs though and that ultimately “someone made the decision that feeding children was not a priority.” “Three dollars a day isn't a massive cost, but as a teacher, I have seen families struggle to afford meals and students dealing with the consequences of trying to learn on empty stomachs,” she said. Though Vaughn noted that free and reduced cost lunches were still offered to students that qualify for them based on income, she says many face a variety of obstacles to those benefits.
She’s heard of students racking up significant lunch debt as a result, and even situations where student report cards have been withheld until debts have been paid. School lunch debt is a growing problem across the U.S. According to the School Nutrition Association's 2025 Position Paper: Address Meal Debt, 96.8 percent of school districts that charge for meals reported challenges with unpaid meal debt, with more than two-thirds describing it as a significant issue.
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