State Budget Priorities for Fiscal Year 2026

In addition to our legislative agenda, Project Bread identifies priorities for the annual state budget. Budgets are moral documents and how the state spends its resources tells us a story about what programs, policies, and people are being uplifted through investments.  

In Massachusetts, this process happens over the first 6 months of each calendar year for the fiscal year that runs from July 1st to June 30th.  

School Meals for All has been a tremendous success in Massachusetts with over 100,000 additional students eating school meals in October 2024 compared to October 2019.   

While the Legislature made the program permanent in 2023, it needs to continued funding to meet up with the increasing demand and food costs.  

Updates: 

• Governor Healey included $170 million in her budget (H1) to continue School Meals for All.  

Project Bread is a contracted partner of the Department of Transitional Assistance to operate the FoodSource Hotline – the only statewide, confidential, toll-free call center connecting residents across the state to food resources in their communities, available in 180 languages. 

Maintaining $900,000 in level-funding for the Hotline is critical as households navigate the changing landscape in the federal nutrition programs, such as changes in work reporting rules and any additional changes that may come from Congress and the White House.  

Project Bread is a contracted partner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to expand access and participation in school and summer meals programs. The Childhood Nutrition Outreach Program (CNOP) helps ensure children are getting access to the food and nutrition they need.  

Maintaining $700,00 in level-funding for CNOP will ensure that the Commonwealth’s students will have greater access to breakfast and lunch, and the program will continue to help families by providing summer meals to children who have been relying on school meals throughout the school year.  

Congress previously enacted partial replacement for SNAP benefits stolen by “skimming” or “phishing” tactics starting October 1, 2022 through December 20, 2024 – but Congress failed to extend the replacement provisions for stolen benefits after December 20, 2024. Massachusetts has been a leader in ensuring that victims of SNAP-theft are made whole. Over the last two years, the Legislature provided $3 million for “wrap-around” relief to cover federal gaps in replacement. As SNAP skimming continues, victims of theft are being blindsided and left scrambling to pay for groceries – skipping meals, incurring debt, or missing bill payments to buy food.  

The request for FY26 is $1 million per month for replacement funds until the Department of Transitional Assistance issues chip/tap EBT cards, at which point SNAP benefits will be better safeguarded against skimming tactics, and $4 million for the chip/tap EBT card implementation process. 

The Healthy Incentives Program ensures greater access to locally grown fruits and vegetables for households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, while also boosting the local agricultural economy.  

This year, the Department of Transitional Assistance had to make the difficult decision to cut benefit levels to $20 per month for every household in an attempt to preserve year-round access for FY25 instead of letting funds deplete prematurely. However, a lower benefit may result in less utilization as households find the barriers to local produce too hard to overcome for $20 per month. Allocating $25 million for FY26 would allow for year-round operation, as well as restoration of the previous benefit levels. 

Updates: 

• Governor Healey included $18,820,000 in her budget (H1) to continue HIP at the lower benefit amount. 

These grants through the Department of Higher Education allow 2- and 4-year public institutions of higher learning to address the high level of food insecurity among students. As the Legislature makes investments in higher education, it is critical we maintain these efforts to remove barriers to learning such as hunger.  Allocating $2 million for FY26 would allow higher education institutions to support their students and ensure their success