Definition

for receiving either free or reduced lunch. Having this family income data helps to quantify local community needs. Students with family income levels below 185% of poverty levels are noted as "economically disadvantaged" students.

Data Source

Student Enrollment Data +  2022-2023 Income Eligibility Guidelines National Free and Reduced Lunch

Notes

Data represent school years. Year indicated is the spring term of the school year, such that 2025 data represents 2024-2025 school year. The data for the school year is published in January and is based on who enrolls in school lunch by October of that school year.

Since March 2020, Maine has had a policy of universal access to free school provided breakfast and lunch- but the rate of students' families within national income guidelines helps to quantify local community needs. Because of this universal access, school districts may find accurately determining the rates of students in families at 130% and 185% difficult to obtain, since families do not need to provide this for their families to qualify.

All Maine public elementary and junior high schools are required to participate in the program, while high schools have the option of participating. School children qualify for the National program for free school lunches if their family's income does not exceed 130% of the federal poverty level and reduced lunches if their incomes are between 130% and 185% of the federal poverty level. As of June 2023, this was $39,000 for a family of 4 for a free lunch and $55,500 for a reduced lunch.

The national Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is a option for schools in low-income areas. CEP allows schools with high poverty rates to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students without collecting household applications. In CEP schools, while some students may have family incomes above the free lunch rate, the student qualifies because the school qualifies. For CEP schools, the reported rate of eligibility is used. Sometimes this is based on every students family income and other times, schools report 99-100% arbitrarily, regardless of the actual rate since they are not required to collect individual applications in high poverty areas that qualify for CEP status.

Last Updated

2025-09