Explore the Data

Free/Reduced Lunch

Free lunch participation at Lincoln Public Schools has been increasing

Nearly half of students at LPS now participate in the free or reduced-price lunch program.

• In the 2020-21 school year, there were 2,727 students (7%) receiving reduced price lunches, and 15,943 students (40%) receiving free lunches at Lincoln Public Schools, representing 47% of students.⁷
• The number of Lincoln Public School students receiving free or reduced lunch has grown 26% from 2010-2011 to 2020-2021 school years.
• Since 2005, the percent of students receiving reduced-price lunch has remained fairly steady but does appear to be increasing somewhat since the 2016-2017 school year.

Footnotes

7. In general, students are eligible for free lunch if their household income is less than 130% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, and eligible for reduced lunch if their household income is less than 185% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. In the 2020-21 school year, students in a family of four with a household income less than $34,060 would be eligible for free lunch, and those with a household income less than $48,470 would be eligible for reduced lunch. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. (2020). Child nutrition programs: Income eligibility guidelines. Federal Register/Vol. 85, No. 55/Friday, March 20, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-03-20/pdf/2020-05982.pdf