The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)

CEP is a school meal funding option that allows  schools to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students – essentially becoming Hunger-Free Schools. A total of more than 893,000 students in Maryland attend one of 1,404 schools Hunger-Free Schools. For data on CEP schools, go here: Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Data

Students in CEP schools have improved attendance and are nearly three times less likely to face food insecurity. (Read about the research study of CEP in Maryland, conducted by Johns Hopkins University here.) CEP is also associated with improved test scores, weight outcomes, on-time grade promotion, and disciplinary referrals. (Source)