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PantryPath Research · School Hunger Atlas

School hunger in Tennessee

0% certified free/reduced

Tennessee reports 1,829 public schools serving 988,928 students. Per-student free and reduced-price certification counts are suppressed in the Common Core of Data for Tennessee — see the methodology note below. 1,087 schools (64% of NSLP participants) operate under Community Eligibility Provision.

989K

Students enrolled

1,829

Public schools (CCD)

1,087

CEP / Provision 2 schools

95

Counties in atlas

Note on Tennessee's free/reduced certification counts

Tennessee is one of several states where per-student free and reduced-price certification counts are not reliably reported in the 2023–24 Common Core of Data. This can happen when a state operates universal-free meal policies or relies almost entirely on Community Eligibility — students are not individually certified because the school feeds everyone at no charge. School and CEP counts on this page are accurate; the eligibility rate reads as 0% because the underlying per-student counts are suppressed, not because no students qualify. See methodology for details.

Tennessee 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

Tennessee at a glance

Free/reduced

0.0%

Share of enrollment

CEP share

64%

Of NSLP schools

Direct cert

28.3%

SNAP/TANF/Medicaid

NSLP schools

93%

Serve NSLP meals

5–17 in poverty

18.4%

Census SAIPE 2023

Access score

0.38

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 95 in Tennessee.

Highest free/reduced share

Certified ≤185% FPL per enrollment

  1. 1 Anderson 0.0%
  2. 2 Bedford 0.0%
  3. 3 Benton 0.0%
  4. 4 Bledsoe 0.0%
  5. 5 Blount 0.0%

Highest CEP adoption

Of NSLP schools — min. 3 NSLP schools

  1. 1 Bedford 100%
  2. 2 Benton 100%
  3. 3 Bledsoe 100%
  4. 4 Bradley 100%
  5. 5 Campbell 100%

Largest enrollment

Total students in CCD universe

  1. 1 Shelby 149K
  2. 2 Davidson 81K
  3. 3 Knox 62K
  4. 4 Rutherford 61K
  5. 5 Hamilton 46K

Every county in Tennessee

All 95 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
Anderson 29 12,128 0.0% 81% 22.5% 16.3% 0.42
Bedford 14 8,994 0.0% 100% 47.2% 18.3% 0.50
Benton 7 2,130 0.0% 100% 44.4% 26.9% 0.50
Bledsoe 5 1,650 0.0% 100% 39.8% 27.2% 0.50
Blount 34 18,103 0.0% 0% 15.1% 12.3% 0.19
Bradley 26 16,181 0.0% 100% 29.4% 17.6% 0.49
Campbell 14 5,210 0.0% 100% 38.8% 26.2% 0.47
Cannon 5 1,848 0.0% 100% 26.3% 21.0% 0.50
Carroll 13 4,408 0.0% 50% 29.2% 20.8% 0.33
Carter 19 7,258 0.0% 100% 28.9% 23.2% 0.49
Cheatham 14 5,629 0.0% 0% 32.9% 11.8% 0.19
Chester 6 2,782 0.0% 0% 26.4% 19.5% 0.20
Claiborne 14 4,061 0.0% 100% 28.4% 25.9% 0.47
Clay 4 1,070 0.0% 100% 32.2% 29.4% 0.50
Cocke 13 4,985 0.0% 92% 41.1% 27.2% 0.46
Coffee 20 9,193 0.0% 22% 29.0% 19.5% 0.25
Crockett 7 2,999 0.0% 100% 25.5% 20.0% 0.50
Cumberland 12 7,093 0.0% 100% 52.2% 22.7% 0.50
Davidson 160 80,764 0.0% 76% 29.6% 18.2% 0.42
Decatur 4 1,486 0.0% 0% 34.1% 22.2% 0.20
DeKalb 6 2,933 0.0% 100% 56.8% 20.1% 0.47
Dickson 17 8,009 0.0% 0% 21.9% 13.5% 0.18
Dyer 12 6,204 0.0% 100% 35.2% 24.5% 0.50
Fayette 8 3,238 0.0% 100% 31.0% 20.5% 0.47
Fentress 7 2,757 0.0% 86% 33.1% 25.4% 0.46
Franklin 12 5,383 0.0% 83% 34.0% 18.1% 0.45
Gibson 20 8,936 0.0% 79% 33.8% 18.5% 0.38
Giles 8 3,644 0.0% 100% 30.2% 21.1% 0.50
Grainger 9 2,986 0.0% 100% 27.1% 21.6% 0.46
Greene 25 9,117 0.0% 52% 25.0% 18.6% 0.33
Grundy 5 1,719 0.0% 100% 34.6% 26.8% 0.50
Hamblen 17 10,247 0.0% 100% 31.1% 20.2% 0.50
Hamilton 81 45,790 0.0% 55% 34.0% 18.8% 0.36
Hancock 3 717 0.0% 100% 44.4% 35.0% 0.50
Hardeman 9 3,207 0.0% 100% 38.9% 29.5% 0.50
Hardin 7 3,359 0.0% 100% 34.8% 24.4% 0.50
Hawkins 19 7,392 0.0% 94% 32.6% 21.1% 0.47
Haywood 7 2,574 0.0% 100% 42.4% 28.4% 0.47
Henderson 11 4,919 0.0% 82% 32.0% 18.0% 0.45
Henry 9 4,573 0.0% 100% 33.1% 24.4% 0.48
Hickman 9 3,061 0.0% 100% 29.0% 20.6% 0.48
Houston 6 1,239 0.0% 0% 24.7% 22.2% 0.13
Humphreys 6 2,624 0.0% 100% 27.2% 19.1% 0.50
Jackson 4 1,431 0.0% 100% 36.1% 26.2% 0.50
Jefferson 14 6,854 0.0% 100% 28.0% 17.5% 0.47
Johnson 6 1,977 0.0% 100% 33.1% 27.1% 0.50
Knox 87 61,648 0.0% 67% 19.1% 14.9% 0.39
Lake 3 730 0.0% 100% 54.9% 44.5% 0.50
Lauderdale 7 3,360 0.0% 100% 41.0% 29.3% 0.50
Lawrence 14 6,750 0.0% 100% 39.0% 19.5% 0.47
Lewis 4 1,743 0.0% 0% 24.4% 21.0% 0.20
Lincoln 11 5,127 0.0% 30% 26.0% 19.1% 0.27
Loudon 13 7,617 0.0% 17% 18.0% 15.6% 0.23
Macon 8 4,235 0.0% 100% 31.6% 21.0% 0.50
Madison 25 12,662 0.0% 100% 39.0% 26.9% 0.48
Marion 12 4,198 0.0% 100% 33.3% 20.0% 0.47
Marshall 10 5,452 0.0% 0% 21.7% 14.8% 0.20
Maury 23 13,084 0.0% 0% 25.3% 13.2% 0.18
McMinn 11 5,984 0.0% 100% 40.6% 19.1% 0.50
McNairy 10 3,822 0.0% 100% 33.3% 20.5% 0.46
Meigs 4 1,786 0.0% 100% 40.4% 22.4% 0.50
Monroe 17 6,511 0.0% 75% 41.8% 20.5% 0.41
Montgomery 43 38,336 0.0% 0% 20.9% 15.9% 0.20
Moore 2 877 0.0% 0% 18.7% 12.8% 0.20
Morgan 7 2,798 0.0% 100% 37.6% 18.1% 0.50
Obion 10 4,667 0.0% 100% 32.7% 26.4% 0.50
Overton 8 2,969 0.0% 0% 24.5% 18.7% 0.17
Perry 5 1,054 0.0% 0% 26.7% 25.9% 0.16
Pickett 2 587 0.0% 100% 28.8% 24.8% 0.50
Polk 7 2,131 0.0% 100% 36.9% 19.4% 0.47
Putnam 21 11,664 0.0% 39% 48.6% 19.4% 0.29
Rhea 8 4,783 0.0% 100% 33.8% 20.6% 0.50
Roane 18 6,318 0.0% 100% 33.1% 16.3% 0.49
Robertson 25 14,215 0.0% 57% 17.7% 13.3% 0.34
Rutherford 62 60,870 0.0% 22% 18.9% 11.5% 0.26
Scott 10 3,944 0.0% 70% 41.0% 25.8% 0.41
Sequatchie 3 1,967 0.0% 100% 35.8% 22.7% 0.50
Sevier 28 12,747 0.0% 0% 20.3% 17.8% 0.19
Shelby 268 149,315 0.0% 87% 41.3% 27.7% 0.44
Smith 9 3,033 0.0% 0% 18.4% 16.0% 0.20
Stewart 6 1,999 0.0% 50% 20.4% 16.5% 0.28
Sullivan 36 19,158 0.0% 84% 27.2% 17.4% 0.43
Sumner 50 30,508 0.0% 0% 14.8% 11.7% 0.20
Tipton 13 10,013 0.0% 100% 31.4% 21.6% 0.50
Trousdale 3 1,415 0.0% 100% 21.4% 15.8% 0.50
Unicoi 7 2,152 0.0% 100% 32.1% 20.8% 0.47
Union 7 2,802 0.0% 100% 31.5% 23.4% 0.50
Van Buren 2 754 0.0% 100% 34.2% 23.7% 0.50
Warren 11 6,413 0.0% 100% 30.0% 22.5% 0.48
Washington 26 15,131 0.0% 74% 21.9% 17.6% 0.40
Wayne 8 2,149 0.0% 100% 29.1% 24.1% 0.47
Weakley 11 3,932 0.0% 91% 30.5% 21.0% 0.47
White 8 3,851 0.0% 100% 32.0% 18.3% 0.50
Williamson 58 43,969 0.0% 0% 3.3% 4.3% 0.20
Wilson 31 24,836 0.0% 0% 11.5% 8.3% 0.18

Tennessee 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 0 children who rely on school meals in Tennessee.

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

Tennessee child poverty

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

Tennessee child poverty atlas

Tennessee pantries

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

Tennessee 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