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PantryPath Research · School Hunger Atlas

School hunger in Illinois

48% certified free/reduced

Across 3,854 public schools serving 1,845,387 students, 47.6% of Illinois students are certified free or reduced-price. 2,088 schools (60% of NSLP participants) operate under the Community Eligibility Provision, and 0.0% of students are directly certified through SNAP, TANF, or Medicaid linkage.

1.8M

Students enrolled

3,854

Public schools (CCD)

2,088

CEP / Provision 2 schools

102

Counties in atlas

Illinois by county

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Toggle between the school-food-access composite, free/reduced eligibility, CEP share, direct-certification rate, and SAIPE school-age poverty. Hover a county to see schools, enrollment, and the underlying certification mix.

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Lower
Higher

Illinois at a glance

Free/reduced

47.6%

Share of enrollment

CEP share

60%

Of NSLP schools

Direct cert

0.0%

SNAP/TANF/Medicaid

NSLP schools

91%

Serve NSLP meals

5–17 in poverty

14.2%

Census SAIPE 2023

Access score

0.60

Composite 0–1

The access score is a 0–1 composite weighted 50% eligibility, 30% CEP share, 20% NSLP share — a visualization and ranking aid, not a direct measurement. See methodology.

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 102 in Illinois.

Highest free/reduced share

Certified ≤185% FPL per enrollment

  1. 1 Alexander 99.0%
  2. 2 Pulaski 79.1%
  3. 3 Jackson 74.3%
  4. 4 Vermilion 68.6%
  5. 5 Cass 66.2%

Highest CEP adoption

Of NSLP schools — min. 3 NSLP schools

  1. 1 Alexander 100%
  2. 2 Brown 100%
  3. 3 Clay 100%
  4. 4 Coles 100%
  5. 5 Cumberland 100%

Largest enrollment

Total students in CCD universe

  1. 1 Cook 697K
  2. 2 DuPage 139K
  3. 3 Lake 118K
  4. 4 Will 113K
  5. 5 Kane 87K

Every county in Illinois

All 102 counties with school counts, enrollment, certification mix, CEP adoption, and the SAIPE 5–17 poverty backdrop.

County Schools Enrollment Free/reduced CEP Direct cert 5–17 poverty Access
Adams 19 8,779 55.7% 5% 0.0% 14.0% 0.49
Alexander 5 609 99.0% 100% 0.0% 37.1% 1.00
Bond 8 1,883 50.2% 0% 0.0% 14.3% 0.43
Boone 16 8,981 56.5% 63% 0.0% 15.0% 0.67
Brown 3 690 45.4% 100% 0.0% 11.9% 0.73
Bureau 21 4,582 54.1% 35% 0.0% 14.7% 0.57
Calhoun 4 589 37.2% 0% 0.0% 12.7% 0.39
Carroll 7 1,971 50.5% 14% 0.0% 15.6% 0.50
Cass 8 2,156 66.2% 63% 0.0% 16.7% 0.72
Champaign 55 25,270 46.2% 64% 0.0% 13.9% 0.60
Christian 18 4,512 54.7% 89% 0.0% 15.4% 0.74
Clark 8 2,465 47.8% 50% 0.0% 15.4% 0.59
Clay 8 2,120 49.8% 100% 0.0% 19.1% 0.75
Clinton 19 5,244 36.3% 16% 0.0% 8.7% 0.43
Coles 13 5,974 56.2% 100% 0.0% 17.9% 0.77
Cook 1,277 696,588 56.0% 83% 0.0% 16.7% 0.71
Crawford 10 2,715 50.8% 20% 0.0% 16.6% 0.51
Cumberland 6 1,484 37.3% 100% 0.0% 12.1% 0.65
De Witt 7 2,175 51.9% 14% 0.0% 15.0% 0.50
DeKalb 39 16,209 47.3% 42% 0.0% 12.7% 0.56
Douglas 10 2,791 48.9% 0% 0.0% 11.1% 0.44
DuPage 240 138,725 27.2% 27% 0.0% 6.6% 0.37
Edgar 16 2,659 42.6% 64% 0.0% 18.0% 0.58
Edwards 3 820 47.4% 0% 0.0% 14.0% 0.44
Effingham 15 5,070 40.0% 50% 0.0% 11.6% 0.54
Fayette 12 2,888 60.1% 100% 0.0% 21.5% 0.80
Ford 8 2,491 48.5% 38% 0.0% 13.8% 0.56
Franklin 19 5,570 56.9% 74% 0.0% 21.8% 0.71
Fulton 21 4,194 53.9% 86% 0.0% 17.1% 0.73
Gallatin 3 687 61.0% 100% 0.0% 21.8% 0.81
Greene 6 1,728 53.5% 100% 0.0% 17.6% 0.77
Grundy 22 12,208 25.1% 0% 0.0% 8.0% 0.31
Hamilton 4 1,115 54.7% 0% 0.0% 16.1% 0.47
Hancock 12 2,727 50.1% 33% 0.0% 16.9% 0.55
Hardin 3 534 63.7% 100% 0.0% 28.1% 0.82
Henderson 4 760 61.7% 0% 0.0% 16.5% 0.51
Henry 25 7,866 45.3% 36% 0.0% 10.9% 0.53
Iroquois 23 3,865 53.3% 38% 0.0% 15.2% 0.56
Jackson 20 6,875 74.3% 85% 0.0% 22.8% 0.83
Jasper 4 1,189 41.6% 0% 0.0% 12.5% 0.41
Jefferson 21 5,398 60.8% 81% 0.0% 19.9% 0.75
Jersey 5 2,432 45.3% 0% 0.0% 13.4% 0.43
Jo Daviess 15 2,927 37.6% 0% 0.0% 10.5% 0.39
Johnson 7 1,766 48.7% 57% 0.0% 15.9% 0.61
Kane 131 86,761 38.6% 62% 0.0% 11.0% 0.55
Kankakee 35 16,246 57.7% 50% 0.0% 14.2% 0.63
Kendall 41 29,862 32.4% 23% 0.0% 6.1% 0.42
Knox 17 6,392 62.6% 65% 0.0% 19.7% 0.71
Lake 187 118,191 31.2% 53% 0.0% 10.1% 0.44
LaSalle 44 14,578 46.9% 48% 0.0% 15.2% 0.56
Lawrence 6 1,949 62.9% 0% 0.0% 19.8% 0.51
Lee 13 3,838 51.9% 23% 0.0% 13.4% 0.53
Livingston 21 5,365 50.1% 57% 0.0% 13.3% 0.62
Logan 14 3,467 51.3% 50% 0.0% 16.5% 0.61
Macon 34 14,698 53.0% 56% 0.0% 22.4% 0.63
Macoupin 26 7,304 53.4% 54% 0.0% 16.2% 0.63
Madison 70 35,183 45.0% 57% 0.0% 12.8% 0.60
Marion 22 5,720 64.8% 71% 0.0% 20.4% 0.73
Marshall 8 1,776 52.5% 100% 0.0% 14.7% 0.76
Mason 9 2,192 43.2% 100% 0.0% 20.7% 0.69
Massac 9 2,083 64.9% 100% 0.0% 29.4% 0.82
McDonough 12 3,204 52.4% 91% 0.0% 21.6% 0.72
McHenry 85 50,497 34.4% 10% 0.0% 6.8% 0.39
McLean 55 23,852 39.0% 14% 0.0% 8.6% 0.42
Menard 7 1,732 39.1% 0% 0.0% 12.3% 0.40
Mercer 8 1,947 44.2% 63% 0.0% 13.1% 0.61
Monroe 12 5,036 19.0% 0% 0.0% 3.9% 0.30
Montgomery 15 3,869 46.6% 100% 0.0% 17.0% 0.71
Morgan 20 4,430 54.4% 67% 0.0% 17.2% 0.65
Moultrie 6 1,630 54.0% 33% 0.0% 11.8% 0.57
Ogle 22 8,277 35.2% 35% 0.0% 11.4% 0.46
Peoria 67 27,325 55.5% 55% 0.0% 21.5% 0.64
Perry 8 2,614 47.7% 50% 0.0% 23.1% 0.59
Piatt 14 3,057 30.4% 23% 0.0% 7.3% 0.41
Pike 11 2,438 52.9% 45% 0.0% 21.2% 0.60
Pope 2 478 55.6% 100% 0.0% 32.0% 0.78
Pulaski 4 771 79.1% 100% 0.0% 33.1% 0.90
Putnam 4 766 34.7% 0% 0.0% 12.2% 0.37
Randolph 13 3,930 51.1% 69% 0.0% 14.0% 0.66
Richland 3 2,021 55.3% 100% 0.0% 16.0% 0.78
Rock Island 49 21,880 60.4% 48% 0.0% 20.6% 0.64
Saline 14 3,653 65.7% 100% 0.0% 24.0% 0.81
Sangamon 67 27,457 41.6% 57% 0.0% 16.1% 0.57
Schuyler 4 945 45.6% 100% 0.0% 14.5% 0.73
Scott 5 737 47.6% 100% 0.0% 16.3% 0.74
Shelby 13 2,901 45.1% 38% 0.0% 12.2% 0.54
St. Clair 85 41,042 52.7% 58% 0.0% 18.2% 0.64
Stark 5 863 39.3% 100% 0.0% 15.6% 0.70
Stephenson 20 6,020 54.5% 40% 0.0% 17.0% 0.59
Tazewell 52 18,876 41.0% 52% 0.0% 9.7% 0.56
Union 15 2,494 52.2% 93% 0.0% 18.7% 0.74
Vermilion 34 11,121 68.6% 63% 0.0% 25.9% 0.72
Wabash 5 1,559 50.0% 20% 0.0% 15.6% 0.51
Warren 9 2,548 63.1% 56% 0.0% 16.4% 0.68
Washington 7 1,758 36.9% 29% 0.0% 10.1% 0.47
Wayne 12 2,421 46.6% 92% 0.0% 16.8% 0.71
White 10 2,196 59.1% 100% 0.0% 17.6% 0.78
Whiteside 28 8,411 51.4% 35% 0.0% 14.6% 0.55
Will 175 113,194 39.5% 42% 0.0% 8.9% 0.51
Williamson 21 9,716 54.9% 29% 0.0% 19.6% 0.56
Winnebago 81 43,614 62.7% 75% 0.0% 19.9% 0.74
Woodford 19 6,221 28.6% 21% 0.0% 7.3% 0.41

Illinois school meals guide

How free and reduced-price school lunch eligibility works, application steps, and what to do if your child's school is not in CEP.

School meals guide

Summer meals

When the school year ends, NSLP and CEP stop. The Summer Food Service Program and Summer EBT fill the gap for the 879,000 children who rely on school meals in Illinois.

Summer meals guide

Families with children

SNAP, WIC, Head Start, and the full federal-program stack for households with kids — the assistance ecosystem around the school cafeteria.

Families guide

Illinois child poverty

The sibling atlas — county-level child poverty across Illinois. Free/reduced eligibility and child poverty track each other closely but not perfectly.

Illinois child poverty atlas

Illinois pantries

Verified food pantries, food banks, and meal programs across Illinois — open weeknights, weekends, and through the summer gap.

Illinois pantry directory

Methodology

How we aggregated NCES Common Core of Data school-level records to counties, proxied CEP from lunch_program == 2, and layered SAIPE school-age poverty — plus the access-score formula.

Full methodology