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PantryPath Research · School Hunger Atlas

School hunger in Indiana

48% certified free/reduced

Across 1,839 public schools serving 1,026,170 students, 48.1% of Indiana students are certified free or reduced-price. 632 schools (36% of NSLP participants) operate under the Community Eligibility Provision, and 52.1% of students are directly certified through SNAP, TANF, or Medicaid linkage.

1.0M

Students enrolled

1,839

Public schools (CCD)

632

CEP / Provision 2 schools

92

Counties in atlas

Indiana 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

Indiana at a glance

Free/reduced

48.1%

Share of enrollment

CEP share

36%

Of NSLP schools

Direct cert

52.1%

SNAP/TANF/Medicaid

NSLP schools

96%

Serve NSLP meals

5–17 in poverty

14.0%

Census SAIPE 2023

Access score

0.54

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 92 in Indiana.

Highest free/reduced share

Certified ≤185% FPL per enrollment

  1. 1 Clinton 73.8%
  2. 2 Marion 66.0%
  3. 3 Jennings 65.9%
  4. 4 Fulton 61.3%
  5. 5 Cass 61.2%

Highest CEP adoption

Of NSLP schools — min. 3 NSLP schools

  1. 1 Blackford 100%
  2. 2 Clay 100%
  3. 3 Crawford 100%
  4. 4 Pike 100%
  5. 5 Switzerland 100%

Largest enrollment

Total students in CCD universe

  1. 1 Marion 155K
  2. 2 Lake 74K
  3. 3 Hamilton 63K
  4. 4 Allen 55K
  5. 5 St. Joseph 36K

Every county in Indiana

All 92 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 9 4,247 39.6% 22% 42.6% 16.2% 0.46
Allen 88 55,020 49.7% 69% 56.1% 15.6% 0.65
Bartholomew 18 12,584 47.0% 0% 47.5% 11.8% 0.44
Benton 3 1,619 58.0% 0% 54.9% 12.8% 0.49
Blackford 3 1,471 55.4% 100% 69.4% 17.4% 0.78
Boone 18 13,105 21.4% 0% 22.6% 3.8% 0.31
Brown 5 1,594 51.5% 0% 52.0% 12.2% 0.46
Carroll 6 2,393 52.1% 0% 49.4% 11.2% 0.46
Cass 12 6,557 61.2% 0% 57.1% 14.2% 0.51
Clark 30 20,800 52.1% 11% 42.5% 10.1% 0.48
Clay 10 4,114 56.3% 100% 51.1% 15.0% 0.78
Clinton 11 5,759 73.8% 45% 60.1% 11.9% 0.71
Crawford 6 1,295 55.8% 100% 60.0% 20.5% 0.75
Daviess 10 4,666 47.8% 60% 56.6% 12.7% 0.62
Dearborn 13 7,488 32.8% 0% 36.6% 8.5% 0.36
Decatur 7 3,951 52.0% 0% 51.8% 11.6% 0.46
DeKalb 14 6,805 47.3% 0% 48.7% 11.1% 0.44
Delaware 33 15,622 46.0% 33% 57.5% 18.9% 0.51
Dubois 15 7,407 37.3% 0% 35.6% 7.5% 0.39
Elkhart 56 33,613 53.8% 20% 56.6% 13.8% 0.52
Fayette 7 3,140 60.9% 71% 71.3% 19.6% 0.72
Floyd 16 11,866 36.5% 36% 40.4% 11.8% 0.46
Fountain 8 2,477 49.6% 29% 48.9% 13.5% 0.51
Franklin 7 3,226 37.6% 0% 43.6% 9.8% 0.39
Fulton 7 2,413 61.3% 0% 58.1% 14.9% 0.51
Gibson 12 4,728 40.4% 33% 43.1% 10.5% 0.50
Grant 26 10,740 57.8% 52% 60.1% 23.3% 0.61
Greene 14 4,740 48.5% 36% 52.0% 15.0% 0.55
Hamilton 68 62,761 20.4% 0% 21.2% 4.3% 0.29
Hancock 24 14,529 33.7% 0% 34.5% 5.3% 0.36
Harrison 14 5,897 48.2% 0% 44.1% 10.0% 0.44
Hendricks 46 32,594 37.0% 0% 35.5% 5.3% 0.38
Henry 17 6,650 50.3% 59% 59.6% 14.4% 0.63
Howard 26 12,661 49.5% 56% 55.8% 15.9% 0.61
Huntington 10 4,825 49.8% 0% 48.2% 12.0% 0.43
Jackson 14 6,723 49.5% 57% 58.6% 12.2% 0.62
Jasper 10 4,828 45.4% 40% 50.1% 9.9% 0.55
Jay 6 2,987 56.6% 0% 52.8% 20.3% 0.48
Jefferson 10 4,046 55.0% 10% 57.7% 16.0% 0.51
Jennings 8 3,833 65.9% 0% 68.8% 14.9% 0.53
Johnson 38 28,435 42.3% 8% 43.9% 7.6% 0.44
Knox 12 5,059 51.7% 58% 56.6% 16.2% 0.63
Kosciusko 20 11,217 51.7% 0% 49.2% 9.8% 0.46
LaGrange 13 4,867 43.5% 38% 39.5% 10.6% 0.53
Lake 117 74,111 49.1% 54% 56.6% 18.6% 0.60
LaPorte 34 15,672 54.2% 66% 61.9% 19.3% 0.66
Lawrence 13 4,604 57.6% 31% 60.5% 15.8% 0.58
Madison 29 17,872 47.4% 36% 63.4% 15.7% 0.54
Marion 234 155,270 66.0% 82% 72.8% 20.0% 0.76
Marshall 16 7,606 54.3% 0% 53.3% 10.9% 0.47
Martin 6 1,450 47.5% 50% 47.6% 15.7% 0.59
Miami 10 4,861 59.5% 30% 61.9% 17.7% 0.59
Monroe 31 14,153 37.9% 27% 41.0% 12.4% 0.44
Montgomery 16 5,986 49.4% 0% 51.0% 13.8% 0.45
Morgan 22 10,268 48.6% 0% 50.9% 11.5% 0.44
Newton 7 1,910 53.9% 43% 60.8% 12.3% 0.60
Noble 14 6,640 44.4% 43% 48.4% 10.5% 0.55
Ohio 3 854 44.5% 0% 45.4% 11.0% 0.42
Orange 6 3,056 49.8% 83% 59.2% 16.9% 0.70
Owen 6 2,215 56.8% 0% 58.5% 16.2% 0.48
Parke 7 2,230 56.0% 43% 59.2% 18.8% 0.61
Perry 5 2,837 47.3% 20% 49.4% 14.9% 0.50
Pike 5 1,696 50.6% 100% 55.5% 13.1% 0.75
Porter 52 26,061 22.9% 25% 40.1% 9.5% 0.39
Posey 9 3,538 38.4% 0% 40.4% 10.7% 0.39
Pulaski 6 1,706 55.5% 0% 50.9% 13.4% 0.48
Putnam 17 6,773 34.8% 0% 41.2% 12.3% 0.36
Randolph 16 11,833 36.0% 54% 22.4% 18.1% 0.50
Ripley 12 4,234 46.9% 0% 45.9% 12.2% 0.43
Rush 7 2,022 55.6% 14% 56.7% 13.3% 0.52
Scott 9 3,884 59.3% 33% 64.1% 17.7% 0.60
Shelby 17 7,500 43.0% 0% 50.5% 11.7% 0.39
Spencer 10 3,188 39.4% 40% 37.1% 9.5% 0.52
St. Joseph 65 35,737 50.9% 52% 58.7% 18.2% 0.61
Starke 7 3,130 58.2% 29% 62.3% 16.5% 0.58
Steuben 9 3,467 50.4% 0% 54.3% 12.2% 0.45
Sullivan 9 3,173 54.7% 44% 57.1% 16.5% 0.61
Switzerland 4 1,438 56.5% 100% 61.4% 20.5% 0.78
Tippecanoe 34 23,385 47.2% 33% 48.4% 11.7% 0.53
Tipton 5 2,198 44.0% 0% 43.2% 10.2% 0.42
Union 4 1,289 48.0% 0% 43.4% 14.6% 0.44
Vanderburgh 40 22,075 51.5% 74% 57.9% 15.5% 0.67
Vermillion 6 2,244 59.1% 0% 57.9% 15.9% 0.50
Vigo 25 13,453 60.6% 0% 63.9% 19.7% 0.49
Wabash 13 5,229 53.3% 0% 49.6% 12.7% 0.47
Warren 4 1,382 50.5% 0% 39.4% 10.3% 0.45
Warrick 17 9,901 24.8% 12% 32.1% 8.3% 0.36
Washington 8 3,951 48.4% 63% 54.6% 17.2% 0.63
Wayne 21 9,643 54.5% 55% 60.3% 22.2% 0.63
Wells 9 5,104 41.2% 0% 41.6% 9.6% 0.41
White 12 4,322 59.4% 0% 57.5% 15.1% 0.50
Whitley 11 5,667 34.8% 0% 35.5% 9.1% 0.37

Indiana 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 493,861 children who rely on school meals in Indiana.

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

Indiana child poverty

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

Indiana child poverty atlas

Indiana pantries

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

Indiana 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