LEWISBURG, W.Va. (WVDN) – Students in Greenbrier County will have the opportunity to eat a no-cost breakfast and lunch at school through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program. The CEP was enacted as a result of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act and provides universal meal service to children in high-poverty areas. This is the fifth year for the option.
The CEP serves as an alternative to collecting, approving and verifying household eligibility applications for free and reduced-price eligible students in high-poverty Local Education Agencies (LEAS). If at least 40 percent of a school’s student population is directly certified for free meal benefits, the entire school qualifies for the option.
“I am proud that Greenbrier County Schools will be participating in the CEP program to help meet a crucial need for many students in our county,” said, Jeff Bryant, Superintendent of Greenbrier County Schools. “We know academic achievement increases when our students are well-fed and ready to leam, and we must provide secure and reliable access to nutritious meals so all students have a chance to achieve at the highest level possible.”
Greenbrier County expects to have all 13 schools participate in the CEP. The program allows the school system to feed nearly 3500 students each day.
The 2017 Feeding America: Map the Meal Gap data reports high levels of food insecurity and hunger across the country. In West Virginia, more than 14 percent of residents, and over 79,000 children, live in food-insecure households.
For more information, contact Jenny Curry, Greenbrier County Child Nutrition Director.
In accordance with Federal Civil Rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Civil Rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior credible activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g, Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
