The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is a federal school meal funding option that enables schools, participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, to provide free meals to all students.
Making the Case for CEP
- One-page CEP Overview
- Promoting Educational Equity With CEP
- How CEP Benefits Students, Families, and Schools
- CEP Talking Points for Conversations with District Administrators
- Template Letter to School Administrators About Adopting CEP
- What School Nutrition Staff Need to Know About Title 1 Funding
- Including Community Eligibility in Your Back-to-School Plans (webinar)
Maximizing Reimbursement and Participation
Grouping and Financial Analysis Tools
- No Kid Hungry’s CEP Calculator and video demo
- MealsCount.com and video demo (grouping tool)
Other Options for Universal Free School Meals
The latest updates and resources on CEP can be found here.
CEP Assessment Tools
From maximizing ISPs to business savvy strategies to increase revenue. We have several tools for you!
Meals Count is a free tool to help school districts optimize their Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) applications, maximize school meal funding, and fight childhood hunger.
Louisiana Fit Kids CEP Webinar
FRAC CEP Webinars
CEP Kickoff Webinar SY2022-2023
Community Eligibility season is upon us! The past two school years have highlighted the value of offering school meals at no charge to all students. As we look ahead to the 2022-2023 school year and the potential return to normal school nutrition operations, a few things are clear: community eligibility offers school districts and schools the opportunity to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students for four school years. Join this webinar as we discuss basics and benefits of community eligibility, along with resources and tools available to aid in the adoption process.
Making CEP Work with Low ISP’s and Partial District Implementation
The pandemic has highlighted the value of offering school meals at no charge to all students. Community Eligibility provides an excellent opportunity for high poverty schools to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students beyond the 2021-2022 school year. The community eligibility reimbursement formula determines what percent of meals are reimbursed at the free and paid rates. Thousands of schools and districts across the country have experienced the benefits of community eligibility by participating with ISPs below 60 percent and by having individual schools participate within a district. Watch this webinar to learn about the strategies and resources available for making community eligibility work with low ISPs and/or partial district implementation.
No Kid Hungry CEP Week!
This year, No Kid Hungry held its first ever CEP week! Below are short and informative videos on Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). The information presented will help schools considering CEP and also provide ways to improve and expand existing CEP programs. You can view all of the recordings below by clicking on each day:
Day 1 – Is CEP Right for You?
Learn how CEP and Provision 2 compare to traditional counting and claiming. You will also hear the considerations and opportunities of each program option.
Day 2 – CEP Financials
Learn how CEP can impact revenue and costs. You will also learn how you can manage the program to maintain overall financial stability in year one and beyond.
Day 3 – CEP and Your Central Business Officer (CBO)
Time to make the case for CEP! Now that you understand the program, it’s time to talk to your administrators and central business office. In this video, you will learn how to coordinate your district’s data needs (including Title I) and hear strategies for implementing CEP in some but not all of your schools.
Day 4 – Maximizing ISP
Learn how to maximize your district’s Identified Student Percentage (ISP) which is critical to maximizing reimbursement. You will learn how to resolve issues in data matching and pick-up tricks for special circumstances.
Day 5 – Measuring CEP Success
You made it! Day five is all about measuring success and ensuring future program stability. You will also learn about what Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are most effective to measure success.
RESOURCES
We encourage you to always visit the Louisiana Department of Education and USDA websites for up-to-date information, deadlines, and waiver information.