TheCommunityEligibilityProvision(CEP)allows
high‐povertyschoolstoofferbothbreakfastand
lunchatnochargetoallstudentswhileeliminating
thetraditionalschoolmealapplicationprocess.
Schoolsacrossthecountryhavesuccessfully
implementedthisnewoptionandareseeingthe
manybenefitsofensuringthatalloftheirstudents
haveaccesstohealthyschoolmeals.
BenefitsoftheCommunityEligibilityProvision
 Lessens administrative work—schools no
longer have to collect and verify school meal
applicationsandcanfocusonfeedingchildren.
 Increasesparticipation—intheinitialpilotstates,schoolsthatimplementedtheprovisionfortwo
yearsincreasedbreakfastparticipationby25percentandlunchparticipationby13percent.
 Facilitates implementation of alternative breakfast service models—when schools don’t have to
collectfeesorcounteachmealservedbyfeecategory,itsimplifiesimplementationofbreakfastin
theclassroomand“grabandgo”servicemodelsthatcanboostparticipationfurther.
 Improvesthefinancialviabilityofschoolnutritionprograms—whenparticipationincreases,school
districts can take advantage of economies of scale, and reinvest additional revenue to improve
nutritionqualityandprovidestafftraining.
 Eliminatesunpaidmealfees—whenallchildreneatatnocharge,theschooldistrictdoesnothave
tocollectunpaidfeesfromfamilies.
AnUnequivocalSuccessintheFirstYearofNationwideAvailability
 CEPhasbeenphasedinafewstatesatatimesincethe2011‐2012schoolyear.Inthe2014‐2015
schoolyear,thefirstyearofnationwideavailability:
 Morethan14,000highpovertyschoolsareparticipating,roughlyhalfofalleligibleschoolsand1in
10schoolsnationwide;
 Morethan2,200schooldistrictshaveadoptedtheprovision,about1in7districtsnationwide;and
 Asaresult,morethan6millionchildrenintheseschoolshaveaccesstotwohealthymealsatschool
eachday.1
WhoShouldParticipate?
 Anyschoolwith40percentormore“identifiedstudents”canparticipateinCEP.Identifiedstudents
includechildrenwhoaredirectlycertified(throughdatamatching)forfreemealsbecausetheylive
inhouseholdsthatparticipateintheSupplementalNutritionAssistanceProgram(SNAP),
TemporaryAssistanceforNeedyFamilies(TANF),orFoodDistributionProgramonIndian
Reservations(FDPIR),aswellaschildrenwhoarecertifiedforfreeschoolmealswithout
CenteronBudgetandPolicyPriorities,TakeUpofCommunityEligibilityThisSchoolYear:MoreThan6MillionChildrenHaveBetterAccesstoSchool
Meals,http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=5273
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submittingaschoolmealapplicationbecauseoftheirstatusasbeinginfostercare,enrolledinHead
Start,homeless,runaway,ormigrantstudents.
 Typically,schoolswith75percentormorefreeandreduced‐pricecertifiedstudentswillmeetthe
40percentidentifiedstudentrequirement.Schooldistrictswith40percentormoreidentified
studentsmayparticipatedistrict‐wideormaygroupschoolstogethertoreachthe40percent
identifiedstudentthreshold.
 Reimbursementsarecalculatedbymultiplyingthepercentageofidentifiedstudentsby1.6to
determinethepercentofmealsthatwillbereimbursedatthefreerate.Forexample,aschoolwith
50percentidentifiedstudentswouldbereimbursedfor80percentofthebreakfastsandlunches
eatenatthefreereimbursementrateandtheremaining20percentatthepaidrate.
IncreasesSchoolMealParticipation
InschoolsthatimplementedCEPinthe2011‐2012schoolyearinIllinois,KentuckyandMichigan:
 Breakfastparticipationincreased25percent,from44percentinOctober2010to56percentin
October2012;and
 Lunchparticipationincreased13percent,from69percentinOctober2010to78percentin
October2012.2
ForschooldistrictsthatimplementCEPdistrict‐wide,likeDetroitPublicSchools,theeffectisfurther
amplified.InDetroit,duringthe2011‐2012schoolyear,comparedtothepreviousschoolyear:
 Breakfastparticipationincreasedby15percent,or7,400additionalstudentsperday;and
 Lunchparticipationincreasedby30percent,ornearly14,000additionalstudentsperday.
ImprovestheFinancialViabilityofSchoolBreakfastandLunchPrograms
Asaresultofexpandedstudentparticipationandreductionsinadministrativework,manyCEPschools
havereportedincreasedrevenues,resultinginstrongerschoolnutritionprogramsoverall.
 “Our department’s main goal is to feed students healthy meals so that they are ready to learn.
Providing breakfast and lunch free of charge to all students through community eligibility has
boosted participation by removing barriers like household applications and collecting fees from
students.Byfeedingmorechildrenwearebenefitingourschool,ourstudents,andourcommunity.”
–LeslieFowler;ExecutiveDirectorofNutritionSupportServices,ChicagoPublicSchools,Illinois
 “Community eligibility has strengthened our school nutrition program financially by expanding
participation and increasing revenue. We now have children eating who never ate school meals
before,with anincrease of approximately1million additionalmealsservedoverthe schoolyear.
Wehavebeenabletousetheincreasedrevenuetoimproveschoolnutritioninfrastructureandthe
qualityofthefoodservedtoourchildren.”–BrendaFish;DirectorofSchoolNutrition,FloydCounty
Schools,Kentucky
EliminatingUnpaidMealFees
Offeringmealsatnochargetoallstudentsmeansthatschoolsnolongerhavetogoaboutcollectingunpaid
mealfeesfromfamiliesorfootthebillformealsservedwhenchildrendonothavemoneytopay.Removing
thisdynamicbetweenfamiliesandschoolsallowsschoolnutritionstafftofocusonpreparingandserving
healthymealstochildrenandeliminatesasignificantfinancialburdenforschooldistrictsandfamilies.
Formoreresources,visitFRAC’sCommunityEligibilityPage–www.frac.org/community‐eligibility
FRACandCenteronBudgetandPolicyPriorities,CommunityEligibility:MakingHigh‐PovertySchoolsHungerFree,
http://frac.org/pdf/community_eligibility_report_2013.pdf
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