But as NPR reporter Ximena Bustillo discusses in As students go back to school, many face a lunch bill for the first time in 2 years, parents and school leaders are facing a real struggle: Many families cannot afford to pay for breakfast and lunch for their kids at school.
Fortunately for kids and families on the Northern Neck, all public school districts are eligible for the USDA's Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). According to the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service CEP page, CEP
is 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).
See NNK LEAs - Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for details about schools and school districts on the Northern Neck.