Pathways Forward: School Meals Legislation in Tennessee

The Tennessee General Assembly’s 2025 legislative session officially ended on Tuesday, April 22. While the session did not result in passage of the school meals bill HB1153/SB740 that would increase free school meals access, it nearly crossed the finish line and there is potential for passing it when the legislative session resumes in 2026. The Tennessee Justice Center and Healthy Meals Healthy Kids partners continue to build a road for this and other future policy wins. We will continue to persevere in the fight for school meals expansion in 2026.  

School Meals Bills Filed this Session  

Two school meals bills were filed in Tennessee during the 114th Tennessee General Assembly by Republicans and one by Democrats. The most successful bill was HB1153/SB740, sponsored by Representative Susan Lynn and Senator Bobby Harshbarger. The bill aims to increase access to no cost school meals for lower income households and currently has twenty co-prime sponsors garnering bipartisan support throughout the session with fifteen Republicans and five Democrats as co-prime sponsors.  

Why Better Access to School Meals is Important   

1 in 5 children face hunger on a regular basis which means hungry kids live in every county in Tennessee. This legislative session, the Healthy Meals Healthy Kids partners advocated for increased access to free school meals. The goal was to transform the reduced-price category to be included in the free category and therefore increase the number of children who qualify for free school meals. Families who fall in the reduced-price category are often working jobs that pay low-wages and make too much to qualify for SNAP but are sometimes struggling to pay the bills. Expanding free school meals to children in these households would be a small cost to the state but a considerable lifeline for families. 

Barriers During the 114th Tennessee General Assembly  

This Tennessee legislative session saw proposed bills and debate about undocumented children in schools, trans children in bathrooms, and Governor Lee’s school vouchers legislation. The Tennessee General Assembly held an unprecedented ‘special session’ at the start of the regular session. It was a week of heated debate that ultimately led to the passage of $447 million towards school vouchers. This hefty price tag left Tennessee legislators with little funding for other proposed legislation in the budget. 

Previously in 2024, during Tennessee’s 113th General Assembly HB255/SB208 the Healthy Meals Healthy Kids partner group advocated for implementing school meals for all with Representative Raper and Senator Lowe. While we hope that one day Tennessee implements legislation that adopts free meals for all, last year’s bill had a bloated fiscal note of $714 million, and the Governor is currently not committed to fully funding this policy. This year’s legislation (HB1153/SB740) has a fiscal note of $2.2 million and was much easier for the state to fund. Even with our shift in approach and subsequent lower fiscal note, the Tennessee General Assembly still stalled the bill and funding to increase access to free school meals. 

What happens next?  

The bill HB1153/SB740 stays alive in Tennessee’s 114th General Assembly for one more year. Healthy Meals Healthy Kids will continue to advocate this summer and fall to pass the bill in 2026 and eliminate the reduced-price category as a step towards school meals for all.  

We envision a state in which no child is hungry at school or in life.  

Children can’t learn on an empty stomach and school meals are just as important to students’ academic success as textbooks and buses. Free school meals for all students lead to many benefits for students, their families, and communities across Tennessee. 

Just like books and buses, school meals should be offered at no cost to students’ families. Alongside our statewide partners, the Tennessee Justice Center and the Healthy Meals Healthy Kids partners are committed to expanding school meals through state policy change. We will come back in 2026 ready to advocate for Tennessee kids.  

Expansive systems-level change takes time and state-wide collaboration. Moving forward, we encourage any individuals or organizations interested in joining Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Tennessee to walk alongside us in this work.