Free food for thought: The effect of universal free school meals on graduation rates in the US

• This study examines the effect of the community eligibility provision (CEP). • CEP expanded free school meal access in low-income schools across the US. • CEP exposure increased graduation rates by 1.5 percent. • Each additional year of exposure had positive but diminishing returns. • My findings are relevant to improving food security and academic outcomes. This paper evaluates the impact of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) – which expanded free school meal access at low-income schools across the US – on high school graduation rates. Using education and demographic data, I compare within-school outcomes between 2011 and 2020. I find that CEP improved graduation rates by 1.506 percentage points ( p = 0.024 ) at schools where a lower percentage of students were originally eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Further analysis shows that a single year of exposure improved graduation rates by 1.373 percentage points ( p = 0.040 ) and exposure for over a year increased graduation rates by 1.787 percentage points ( p = 0.039 ).