RICHMOND, Va. (May 7, 2026) – More students than ever can access no-cost meals in Virginia schools thanks to participation in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), according to an analysis of state data by No Kid Hungry Virginia.
Over 1,200 Virginia public schools within 116 school divisions currently participate in CEP, helping to connect nearly 708,000 students with free school breakfast and lunch. That’s roughly 60% of the state’s learners.
CEP allows eligible schools serving higher numbers of low-income families to provide no-cost breakfast and lunch to all students without collecting household income applications. The funding option was created by the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010.
Virginia schools started implementing CEP during the 2014-2015 school year, when 11 school divisions and 86 schools participated in CEP.
“When it comes to maximizing CEP participation, Virginia has become a national leader,” said Sarah Steely, director of No Kid Hungry Virginia. “We’ve seen tremendous growth in CEP adoption and school meals access over the past decade thanks to our state and school leaders, nutrition teams, families and food security advocates. The increase means more nourished kids eating breakfast and lunch at school, and more families who are able to stretch household food budgets. We owe it to Virginia’s students – and Virginia’s parents – to maintain that momentum.”
By decreasing stigma and eliminating paperwork burdens for busy families, schools that participate in CEP are associated with meaningful increases in school meals participation.
Research shows that students who participate in school meals can have positive diet-related outcomes, see academic growth and experience reduced hunger, especially among learners living in households that are navigating income insecurity.
School division enrollment for CEP is May 1-June 30: What to know
Delegate Cia Price introduced House Joint Resolution No. 267 during the 2026 Virginia General Assembly to highlight the importance of CEP.
The CEP enrollment period for the 2026-2027 school year is May 1-June 30. No Kid Hungry Virginia is encouraging all school divisions to consider maintaining or expanding CEP, as well as opportunities to maximize the program’s impact in participating schools.
Under CEP, schools are prohibited from collecting both household income applications and student payments for school meals. Instead, student enrollment in programs like SNAP or Medicaid is used to approximate free or reduced-price eligibility levels. When schools have at least 25% of their student body “directly certified” for free or reduced-price school meals, mainly through data matching with SNAP or Medicaid, the school is eligible to participate in CEP. Instead of receiving federal reimbursement funding based on individual student eligibility, the school receives funding according to a formula based on the percentage of directly certified students.
The decision to participate in CEP often requires thoughtful conversation among school division leadership. The administrative cost savings from the elimination of processing household income applications and recouping unpaid meal debt may offset any lost revenue from adopting CEP, but some divisions or schools may need to consider potential revenue-boosting opportunities in order to break even, such as:
- Maximizing participation in school breakfast and lunch through strategies such as accessible serving methods, adequate meal times, appealing menus, and marketing to families;
- Serving afterschool and/or summer meals, if eligible; and/or
- Connecting the self-sustaining school nutrition department with support funds.
As families begin to lose Medicaid and SNAP benefits from the implementation of H.R. 1 – estimates suggest 188,000 Virginians could lose Medicaid benefits next year, for example – it will make it harder for schools to be eligible for or financially sustain CEP. Undertaking regular, rigorous data matching and utilizing additional avenues for direct certification, like coordination with the school’s homeless liaison, can mitigate these impacts and ensure the school’s direct certification percentage accurately reflects the current student body.
Schools should carefully consider whether restarting a four-year CEP election cycle may make more financial sense for maintaining the benefits of CEP over the long term.
Schools who unenroll from CEP must revert back to collecting household income eligibility forms to determine whether students are eligible for free meals, which may lead to increased student meal debt.
For more information, visit https://state.nokidhungry.org/virginia/.
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About No Kid Hungry
No child should go hungry in America. But millions of kids in the United States live with hunger. No Kid Hungry is working to end childhood hunger by helping launch and improve programs that give all kids the healthy food they need to thrive. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization committed to ending hunger and poverty.
