Roughly 3,200 Hilliard City Schools students could lose free breakfast and lunch as federal SNAP cuts strip food aid from tens of thousands of Ohio children.
About 20% of district students were eligible for free meals in the 2022-2023 school year, the most recent eligibility data available from the National Center for Education Statistics. The district enrolled 16,164 students across 24 schools in 2023-2024, according to NCES data compiled by Ballotpedia. Many of those students qualify automatically because their families receive the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Medicaid. When a household loses SNAP, the child can lose free meals, too.
Statewide, the damage is already measurable. Ohio SNAP participation fell by 107,573 people from July 2025 to May 2026, an 8% drop, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Child participation in Ohio fell by 50,477 over the same period, a 9% decline.
The cuts stem from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law July 4, 2025. The law tightened eligibility and work requirements for SNAP and shifted more administrative costs to states. Ohio faces an estimated $160 million in additional costs to keep the program running, the Ohio Capital Journal reported in July 2026.
Nationally, more than 5.6 million people lost SNAP coverage between May 2025 and May 2026, a 13.5% decline. The CBPP estimates well over 1.5 million children have lost SNAP since July 2025.
"We are really only starting to see the beginning," Clarissa Hayes, deputy director of child nutrition programs and policy at the Food Research & Action Center, told Stateline via the Ohio Capital Journal on Sept. 1.
The fallout extends beyond individual families. Schools that offer universal free meals through the USDA's Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) must have at least 25% of students enrolled in SNAP or similar programs to qualify. Schools use enrollment data from April 1 to set eligibility for the following year, according to Education Week.
As SNAP rolls shrink, schools with moderate poverty levels are the most vulnerable to losing CEP status.
Hilliard's district-posted 2026-2027 meal benefit guidelines describe an individual application process, not universal free meals. Families receiving SNAP or Ohio Works First must submit the child's name, case number and an adult signature. Chief Operating Officer Mark Dudgeon reviews applications. Appeals go to Assistant Superintendent Mike McDonough.
One cushion: the Ohio state budget for 2026-2027 covers the cost of reduced-price meals, meaning students in that category will pay nothing for breakfast or lunch.
Still, families who lose SNAP and do not reapply through the school could fall through the cracks. A family of four earning below $42,900 qualifies for free meals, CBS News reported, citing the School Nutrition Association. Without free meals, a family with two school-age children could face roughly $2,200 in additional food costs this school year, according to a Center for American Progress estimate cited in the same report.
Additional changes are scheduled. Adjustments to SNAP benefit calculations and funding take effect Oct. 1, Ideastream Public Media reported Aug. 26. Ohio also faces new food-purchase restriction waivers on the same date, according to Newsweek citing USDA data.
Hilliard families who have lost SNAP but believe they still qualify for free or reduced-price meals can apply online or pick up a paper form at any district school.
