Indeed universal free lunch programs are on the chopping block. To my understanding the cuts are still at the proposal stage though.
[1] https://www.chalkbeat.org/2025/03/12/house-republican-budget...
[1] https://www.chalkbeat.org/2025/03/12/house-republican-budget...
This program replaces free & reduced-price lunch for qualifying kids, with "free for everybody".
They directly cite reasons like increased participation and better service (faster lines). It also cuts down on administrative overhead (don't need to separately qualify each kid). Another benefit is kids are not shamed for getting free lunch, since everybody gets a free lunch.
It is a USDA program: https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/cep
I'm genuinely worried the current administration will decide it is a waste of money, or woke, or some other BS.