NC S708

School food authorities must offer breakfast and lunch at no cost to all students in North Carolina public schools, in compliance with federal USDA guidelines.

State Board of Education shall allocate funds to school food authorities based on evaluations that consider school size (Average Daily Membership), number of free/reduced-price lunch eligible students, prior year expenditures, food quality and nutrition content, use of locally-sourced products, and other relevant factors.

State Board may reserve up to 10% of available nutrition services funds for future allocation, with remaining funds distributed at the beginning of each fiscal year on a fair and equitable basis.

$148,800,000 in recurring General Fund appropriations are allocated to the Department of Public Instruction for the 2023-2024 fiscal year to implement free meals, with authority to use State Aid for Public Schools if insufficient.

Charter schools, regional schools, laboratory schools, and schools governed by specific articles must provide nutrition services in accordance with the same standards and requirements as traditional public schools.