Skip to main content
California Department of Education Logo

Income Eligibility Scales for School Year 2025–26

Income Eligibility Guidelines for Free and Reduced-price Meals or Free Milk in Child Nutrition Programs.

Income Eligibility Guidelines
for Free and Reduced-price Meals or Free Milk
in Child Nutrition Programs

 

Effective from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026

Households with income at or below the following levels may be eligible for free or reduced-price meals or free milk. The household size and Income Eligibility Guidelines charts below have been prepared for you to copy and paste them into the Public Media Release and Letter to Households. Please note that the size of these charts will need to be adjusted manually.

National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs

  • Both free and reduced-price eligibility scales must appear in the Public Media Release
  • Only the reduced-price eligibility scale must appear in the Letter to Households

Special Milk Program

  • Only the free eligibility scale must appear in the Public Media Release and Letter to Households

Free Eligibility Scale
Meals, Snacks, and Milk

Household Size Annual Monthly Twice Per Month Every Two Weeks Weekly

1

$ 20,345

$ 1,696

$ 848

$ 783

$ 392

2

$ 27,495

$ 2,292

$ 1,146

$ 1,058

$ 529

3

$ 34,645

$ 2,888

$ 1,444

$ 1,333

$ 667

4

$ 41,795

$ 3,483

$ 1,742

$ 1,608

$ 804

5

$ 48,945

$ 4,079

$ 2,040

$ 1,883

$ 942

6

$ 56,095

$ 4,675

$ 2,338

$ 2,158

$ 1,079

7

$ 63,245

$ 5,271

$ 2,636

$ 2,433

$ 1,217

8

$ 70,395

$ 5,867

$ 2,934

$ 2,708

$ 1,354

For each additional family member, add:

$ 7,150

$ 596

$ 298

$ 275

$ 138

Reduced-price Eligibility Scale
Meals and Snacks

Household Size Annual Monthly Twice Per Month Every Two Weeks Weekly

1

$ 28,953

$ 2,413

$ 1,207

$ 1,114

$ 557

2

$ 39,128

$ 3,261

$ 1,631

$ 1,505

$ 753

3

$ 49,303

$ 4,109

$ 2,055

$ 1,897

$ 949

4

$ 59,478

$ 4,957

$ 2,479

$ 2,288

$ 1,144

5

$ 69,653

$ 5,805

$ 2,903

$ 2,679

$ 1,340

6

$ 79,828

$ 6,653

$ 3,327

$ 3,071

$ 1,536

7

$ 90,003

$ 7,501

$ 3,751

$ 3,462

$ 1,731

8

$ 100,178

$ 8,349

$ 4,175

$ 3,853

$ 1,927

For each additional family member, add:

$ 10,175

$ 848

$ 424

$ 392

$ 196

Questions:   Nutrition Services Division | 800-952-5609
Last Reviewed: Tuesday, April 07, 2026
Recently Posted in Nutrition

  • School Lunch Hero Day 2026 (added 24-Apr-2026)
    School Lunch Hero Day presents an opportunity to recognize, celebrate, and thank hardworking professionals who continue to make an extraordinary impact on the lives of students.
  • Food Smarts: Free Trainings (added 24-Apr-2026)
    Food Smarts: Free Trainings- Food Smarts Facilitator Training Options for Non-Funded Partners happening in April through June.
  • Modifying the FNS Instruction 113-1 (added 24-Apr-2026)
    On March 3, 2026, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) updated FNS Instruction 113-1 guidance.
  • Income Eligibility Scales for School Year 2026–27 (added 24-Apr-2026)
    Income Eligibility Guidelines for Free and Reduced-price Meals or Free Milk in Child Nutrition Programs.
  • Offer versus Serve Waiver in the SFSP (added 16-Apr-2026)
    The USDA approved a waiver requested by the CDE for non-SFA SFSP operators to use the OVS meal service option on a case-by-case basis.