Healthy School Meals for All Program

The Healthy School Meals for All program allows public School Food Authorities (SFAs) participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs to provide free meals to all students beginning School Year 2023-24. Additional components of the program, including funding to increase wages or provide stipends for front line kitchen staff and incentives to purchase local food, are subject to appropriations and may be available in future years.

How To Apply

Application Instructions

SFAs will indicate whether they opt-in to the program via the School Nutrition Programs application in the Colorado Nutrition Portal. The application should reflect CDE’s operating recommendations in order to maximize federal reimbursements. Applications are due by Friday, Sept. 15.

SY 24-25 Application Instructions

How to Claim

Sponsors operating the Healthy School Meals for All program will follow CDE School Nutrition's standard claiming guidance

Claiming Instructions

Program Requirements

Any Colorado public school district, charter school food authority, day treatment facility, or Residential Child Care Institution that participates in the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program may opt into the Healthy School Meals for All program. HSMA is optional; SFAs are not required to participate. To participate, a SFA must:

Provide annual notice of participation to the department of education
Maximize the amount of federal reimbursement by implementing CDE’s operating recommendations, which may include CEP, Provision 2, and/or non-Provisional program sites.
Provide free meals to all students enrolled in participating schools
Complete activities identified in the HSMA Application Collection Policy (for sites not recommended for CEP)

Private schools are not eligible to opt into HSMA.

In School Year 2024-25, the local food purchasing program pilot was extended. The implementation of the wages and stipends program is delayed until the 2025-26 school year, subject to available funding. The local food purchasing program pilot was extended for the 2024-25 school year. The implementation of the wages and stipends program is delayed until the 2025-26 school year, subject to available funding.

Sponsors are encouraged to watch the recording of the November On the Menu Session, view the November On the Menu Slides (PDF) and reference this Healthy School Meals for All FAQ to learn more about the Healthy School Meals for All program.

Policy & Guidance

Program Resources:

Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)

Informational Chart (PDF)

HSMA Application Collection Policy

HSMA Feedback Resources

View Trainings

Program Outreach

Use outreach materials to communicate about your participation in the program and communicate to families about the importance of providing household income information.

Outreach Toolkit

Use these videos to share information in your community about Healthy School Meals for All.

https://vimeo.com/821416695

https://vimeo.com/836687831

Find Your School Nutrition Unit Point of Contact

Technical Advisory Workgroup

Overview

HB24-1390 Requires CDE to establish and regularly convene the technical advisory work group to make the following recommendations to the legislature:

Identify ways to maximize federal reimbursements
Reduce costs of the program
Review cost-savings options, including minimizing food waste
Strengthen the long-term resiliency of the healthy school meals for all cash fund
Create model revenue scenarios
Provide options and recommendations to balance program revenues and expenditures

CDE will work with the Colorado Department of Agriculture, the Office of State Planning and Budget and a team of expert facilitators and researchers to lead an open and transparent process that includes robust stakeholder engagement.