Seattle mayor, council close rift over universal school meals in finalized $1.3B Families, Education, Preschool spending plan

Mayor Katie Wilson, District 3 representative and Council President Joy Hollingsworth, and the Seattle City Council have found common ground in the effort to launch a new universal school meals program as part of the city’s new Families, Education, Preschool and Promise Levy spending plan.

Following Tuesday’s council vote, Seattle is set to launch universal free school meals for all Seattle Public School students starting this September. The solution was approved as part of the broader Families, Education, Preschool, and Promise Levy spending plan, delivering on initiatives to eliminate student hunger and increase affordability for local families.

Under the agreed strategy, the universal meal program will begin in the 2026–2027 school year using one-time funds, with the FEPP Levy officially taking over funding for the 2027–2028 school year.

Currently, 51 Seattle public schools provide free meals through federal and state programs, primarily in higher-poverty areas. However, 53 schools previously lacked universal coverage. This initiative bridges that gap, extending free, daily nutrition to more than 6,800 food-insecure students attending those remaining schools.

“K-12 education is free and universal, and this September, the nutrition every child needs to learn will be, too,” Wilson said in an announcement.

Families will still be encouraged to submit meal eligibility applications to help the district maximize state and federal reimbursements.

The compromise followed a political back and forth between Wilson and Hollingsworth over the D3 rep’s plan to move the universal meals program out of the levy and into the riskier financial stream under the city’s general fund where it would be forced to compete with other vital social services. Hollingsworth has said uncertainty about possible challenges to the city’s JumpStart payroll tax were driving her policy proposals.

In addition to the health and nutritional needs of children, the tussle inside City Hall comes amid debate over how Seattle manages its looming budget crisis and who will ultimately pay for it. The mayor has signaled that “nothing is off the table” to fix the deficit including expanding the JumpStart payroll tax or introducing a local capital gains tax.

Groups like the Downtown Seattle Association and regional chambers argue that Seattle’s business tax climate is already driving jobs and office leases to neighboring cities like Bellevue.

The meals program will pump $3.6 million into the Seattle Public Schools Culinary Services Department, which manages centralized meal production, purchasing, and logistics for over 50,000 students. Out of the $3.6 million annual expansion, roughly $1.2 million to $1.6 million per year would be spent on food inventory including contracts with national and local providers.

While the meals program became the center of public debate, Tuesday’s vote on the education levy implementation plan is a milestone with much larger implications including a six-year, spending plan for the $1.3 billion levy passed by voters last November.

Included in the planned initiatives was a forecasted more than $200 million in school safety investments described as supporting existing school health centers and “expanded safety investments in and around schools” by officials.

The additional funding for universal free school meals will be considered as part of the Midyear Supplemental Budget Legislation in legislation scheduled for a vote next Tuesday, August 4th in the Finance, Native Communities, and Tribal Governments Committee.