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PantryPath Research · School Hunger Atlas

School hunger in Kansas

49% certified free/reduced

Across 1,337 public schools serving 477,383 students, 49.1% of Kansas students are certified free or reduced-price. 130 schools (10% of NSLP participants) operate under the Community Eligibility Provision, and 0.0% of students are directly certified through SNAP, TANF, or Medicaid linkage.

477K

Students enrolled

1,337

Public schools (CCD)

130

CEP / Provision 2 schools

105

Counties in atlas

Kansas 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

Kansas at a glance

Free/reduced

49.1%

Share of enrollment

CEP share

10%

Of NSLP schools

Direct cert

0.0%

SNAP/TANF/Medicaid

NSLP schools

96%

Serve NSLP meals

5–17 in poverty

12.0%

Census SAIPE 2023

Access score

0.47

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 105 in Kansas.

Highest free/reduced share

Certified ≤185% FPL per enrollment

  1. 1 Seward 85.4%
  2. 2 Ford 79.0%
  3. 3 Wyandotte 73.0%
  4. 4 Finney 71.6%
  5. 5 Hamilton 70.2%

Highest CEP adoption

Of NSLP schools — min. 3 NSLP schools

  1. 1 Wilson 88%
  2. 2 Atchison 83%
  3. 3 Wyandotte 71%
  4. 4 Bourbon 67%
  5. 5 Allen 63%

Largest enrollment

Total students in CCD universe

  1. 1 Johnson 93K
  2. 2 Sedgwick 83K
  3. 3 Wyandotte 30K
  4. 4 Shawnee 26K
  5. 5 Butler 18K

Every county in Kansas

All 105 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
Allen 11 2,450 49.8% 63% 0.0% 20.7% 0.58
Anderson 6 1,212 54.3% 0% 0.0% 15.2% 0.47
Atchison 6 1,990 59.3% 83% 0.0% 15.0% 0.75
Barber 4 690 53.9% 0% 0.0% 15.8% 0.47
Barton 16 4,724 55.0% 0% 0.0% 19.3% 0.46
Bourbon 6 2,226 63.3% 67% 0.0% 20.6% 0.72
Brown 6 1,409 55.9% 0% 0.0% 13.6% 0.45
Butler 42 18,065 29.7% 0% 0.0% 9.7% 0.34
Chase 2 388 38.9% 0% 0.0% 16.0% 0.39
Chautauqua 4 517 67.3% 25% 0.0% 23.9% 0.61
Cherokee 16 3,509 60.9% 7% 0.0% 18.3% 0.51
Cheyenne 4 463 50.5% 0% 0.0% 17.2% 0.45
Clark 5 458 50.2% 0% 0.0% 16.9% 0.45
Clay 6 1,334 46.7% 0% 0.0% 14.1% 0.43
Cloud 8 1,369 55.7% 0% 0.0% 13.8% 0.48
Coffey 10 1,477 46.2% 0% 0.0% 10.4% 0.43
Comanche 3 322 50.3% 0% 0.0% 15.2% 0.45
Cowley 22 5,801 63.2% 52% 0.0% 19.3% 0.66
Crawford 17 6,114 62.5% 13% 0.0% 17.6% 0.54
Decatur 2 410 57.1% 0% 0.0% 21.6% 0.49
Dickinson 19 3,492 49.7% 0% 0.0% 12.2% 0.44
Doniphan 9 1,370 45.4% 0% 0.0% 15.0% 0.40
Douglas 27 14,011 38.0% 0% 0.0% 9.4% 0.38
Edwards 3 380 53.4% 0% 0.0% 15.1% 0.47
Elk 4 731 43.0% 33% 0.0% 21.4% 0.46
Ellis 11 4,033 39.1% 10% 0.0% 10.7% 0.41
Ellsworth 5 953 38.9% 0% 0.0% 13.5% 0.39
Finney 23 8,143 71.6% 0% 0.0% 14.1% 0.54
Ford 15 7,765 79.0% 0% 0.0% 12.5% 0.60
Franklin 15 4,244 49.7% 0% 0.0% 12.0% 0.43
Geary 14 6,981 55.4% 0% 0.0% 14.8% 0.48
Gove 6 479 39.3% 0% 0.0% 13.1% 0.40
Graham 2 390 52.6% 0% 0.0% 14.6% 0.46
Grant 5 1,532 65.1% 0% 0.0% 15.1% 0.49
Gray 8 1,061 43.5% 0% 0.0% 10.6% 0.42
Greeley 2 241 47.7% 0% 0.0% 13.6% 0.44
Greenwood 6 879 62.0% 17% 0.0% 18.7% 0.56
Hamilton 2 526 70.2% 0% 0.0% 14.6% 0.55
Harper 6 996 63.0% 0% 0.0% 18.6% 0.48
Harvey 17 5,122 50.2% 0% 0.0% 10.3% 0.45
Haskell 5 627 69.1% 0% 0.0% 16.0% 0.55
Hodgeman 2 273 38.5% 0% 0.0% 11.9% 0.39
Jackson 9 2,532 44.4% 0% 0.0% 11.4% 0.40
Jefferson 14 3,181 39.2% 0% 0.0% 9.0% 0.40
Jewell 2 378 60.9% 0% 0.0% 16.2% 0.50
Johnson 163 93,368 27.2% 0% 0.0% 4.3% 0.33
Kearny 6 881 64.1% 0% 0.0% 13.9% 0.52
Kingman 9 1,151 45.9% 0% 0.0% 14.5% 0.41
Kiowa 3 358 45.8% 0% 0.0% 13.1% 0.43
Labette 18 3,509 68.2% 29% 0.0% 19.5% 0.62
Lane 4 262 45.0% 0% 0.0% 12.7% 0.43
Leavenworth 29 13,371 33.1% 19% 0.0% 8.8% 0.41
Lincoln 3 491 51.5% 0% 0.0% 14.2% 0.46
Linn 8 1,859 53.5% 0% 0.0% 16.1% 0.47
Logan 5 505 47.1% 0% 0.0% 14.6% 0.44
Lyon 14 5,301 56.9% 0% 0.0% 14.0% 0.48
Marion 11 2,207 36.8% 0% 0.0% 12.0% 0.37
Marshall 9 1,667 44.4% 0% 0.0% 10.6% 0.42
McPherson 18 4,864 39.0% 0% 0.0% 7.5% 0.38
Meade 5 561 51.2% 0% 0.0% 12.9% 0.46
Miami 17 6,531 27.9% 8% 0.0% 7.9% 0.32
Mitchell 4 1,071 45.1% 0% 0.0% 13.8% 0.43
Montgomery 14 4,819 64.3% 33% 0.0% 18.4% 0.59
Morris 4 881 54.5% 0% 0.0% 18.2% 0.47
Morton 6 1,687 17.7% 0% 0.0% 18.2% 0.26
Nemaha 7 1,878 31.6% 0% 0.0% 8.5% 0.36
Neosho 10 2,557 59.4% 0% 0.0% 17.6% 0.50
Ness 5 407 47.9% 0% 0.0% 13.5% 0.44
Norton 5 820 52.7% 0% 0.0% 17.7% 0.46
Osage 13 2,692 47.1% 15% 0.0% 13.0% 0.48
Osborne 5 593 54.1% 0% 0.0% 14.8% 0.47
Ottawa 6 1,234 49.8% 0% 0.0% 10.6% 0.45
Pawnee 5 993 53.5% 0% 0.0% 15.4% 0.47
Phillips 7 803 50.6% 0% 0.0% 13.5% 0.45
Pottawatomie 15 4,214 31.6% 0% 0.0% 8.0% 0.34
Pratt 6 1,615 48.9% 0% 0.0% 12.0% 0.41
Rawlins 2 375 46.7% 0% 0.0% 12.4% 0.43
Reno 31 8,967 52.9% 0% 0.0% 13.3% 0.44
Republic 5 757 52.6% 0% 0.0% 16.3% 0.46
Rice 10 1,464 58.5% 0% 0.0% 13.8% 0.49
Riley 18 8,056 41.8% 6% 0.0% 12.5% 0.42
Rooks 7 816 50.1% 0% 0.0% 13.9% 0.45
Rush 6 483 44.5% 0% 0.0% 15.7% 0.39
Russell 5 928 53.3% 0% 0.0% 16.7% 0.47
Saline 17 7,658 57.2% 0% 0.0% 13.0% 0.47
Scott 4 962 54.7% 0% 0.0% 9.0% 0.42
Sedgwick 159 82,641 61.4% 2% 0.0% 14.8% 0.51
Seward 10 5,132 85.4% 0% 0.0% 16.2% 0.63
Shawnee 53 26,465 55.2% 53% 0.0% 12.3% 0.63
Sheridan 3 506 39.7% 0% 0.0% 10.9% 0.40
Sherman 5 913 53.8% 0% 0.0% 17.4% 0.43
Smith 4 563 49.2% 0% 0.0% 15.2% 0.45
Stafford 6 781 55.4% 0% 0.0% 15.2% 0.48
Stanton 2 425 60.5% 0% 0.0% 11.8% 0.50
Stevens 6 1,143 55.6% 0% 0.0% 13.5% 0.44
Sumner 23 3,487 51.2% 0% 0.0% 12.3% 0.43
Thomas 7 1,139 39.4% 0% 0.0% 7.8% 0.40
Trego 2 401 38.6% 0% 0.0% 12.9% 0.39
Wabaunsee 6 946 36.0% 0% 0.0% 9.6% 0.38
Wallace 4 297 34.7% 0% 0.0% 24.2% 0.37
Washington 8 1,092 39.7% 0% 0.0% 11.6% 0.40
Wichita 2 393 53.7% 0% 0.0% 12.2% 0.47
Wilson 9 1,543 57.5% 88% 0.0% 16.9% 0.73
Woodson 2 443 53.7% 0% 0.0% 18.0% 0.47
Wyandotte 60 30,209 73.0% 71% 0.0% 21.5% 0.78

Kansas 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 234,245 children who rely on school meals in Kansas.

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

Kansas child poverty

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

Kansas child poverty atlas

Kansas pantries

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

Kansas 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