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
Trending in Nutrition
Recently Posted in Nutrition

  • Free Virtual Training Opportunities (added 29-May-2026)
    CalFresh Healthy Living Statewide Training is offering partners five new free training opportunities. Trainings include a combination of self-paced work and live online meetings, which include trauma-informed approaches, when possible.
  • Updated UBA Template Now Available (added 28-May-2026)
    The California Department of Education is pleased to announce that an updated version of the Universal Benefits Application for the SUN Bucks program is now available.
  • State and Federal Emergency Declarations (added 28-May-2026)
    State and Federal Emergency Declarations due to Orange County Chemical Incident.
  • April 28, 2026 Tuesday at 2 Town Hall Resources (added 21-May-2026)
    The California Department of Education (CDE) Nutrition Services Division (NSD) hosted the monthly Tuesday @ 2 School Nutrition Town Hall webinar April 28, 2026.
  • February 24, 2026 Tuesday at 2 Town Hall Resources (added 21-May-2026)
    The California Department of Education (CDE) Nutrition Services Division (NSD) hosted the monthly Tuesday @ 2 School Nutrition Town Hall webinar February 24, 2026.