The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) nationwide include a new universal meal service option, the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which has been phased in by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over the past several years. CEP was created through the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, and allows qualifying high-poverty schools to offer breakfast and lunch at no cost to all students without requiring families to complete an annual household application.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Education Secretary Arne Duncan stated in a joint letter, “Qualifying schools and districts — for which 40 percent or more of families get nutrition assistance or participate in other programs — are eligible for a reimbursement rate of up to 100 percent of meals. The program was set up under the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, and already about 14,000 schools are participating, accounting for six million students.”
– See more at: http://www.nsba.org/newsroom/new-universal-meal-service-option-now-available-high-poverty-school-districts#sthash.4HNxDkxU.dpuf
