Florida Impact to End Hunger recently released a report entitled “Feeding More of Florida’s Children with the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).” CEP allows schools and school districts in high-poverty communities to serve meals at no cost to all students through the existing National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, without requiring schools to collect paper applications for free or reduced-price eligibility. This allows school staff to focus more on providing nutritious meals to students, and less on collecting cumbersome paperwork. Schools are reimbursed for these meals using a formula based upon the number of students eligible for other means-tested programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), rather than on a per-meal served basis.
This presentation will focus on the benefits of CEP, including reduced administrative work, increased meal participation, facilitation of alternative meal delivery models, and reduced stigma for students. An overview of current participation will be provided as well as next steps for getting involved.