Recent changes tightening eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid could leave hundreds of thousands of families without benefits. As a result, the School Nutrition Association warns, many children could lose automatic access to free school meals.

Families can still apply for meal assistance on their own, but advocates say many may have difficulty completing paperwork in time. The deadlines and documentation can be especially challenging for households already under financial stress.

"It hurts the whole program because one of the things that we've seen really helps school lunch programs is having a lot of students participate, because when you know you'll be providing a lot of lunches, you have economies of scale in terms of your purchasing," said

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