Whitney Independent School District announced last week that all students, regardless of family income, will receive free breakfast and lunch in the coming school year.
The district is now participating in the United States Department of Agriculture’s Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), a non-pricing meal service option for schools and school districts in low-income areas.
CEP allows the nation’s highest poverty schools and districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students without collecting household applications.
Instead, schools that adopt CEP are reimbursed using a formula based on the percentage of students categorically eligible for free meals based on their participation in other specific means-tested programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
The district joins a growing number of local school districts participating in CEP, which is intended to increase student access to school meals while reducing administrative costs associated with processing meal applications.
For more information about the program, visit www.fna.usda.gov/cn/cep.
