SUMMERSVILLE, WV (LOOTPRESS) – This school year, students in Nicholas County will receive free breakfast and lunch at school through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program.
The CEP, introduced as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, aims to provide universal meal service to children in high-poverty areas.
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This marks the fourth year Nicholas County has adopted this program.
The CEP simplifies the process by eliminating the need to collect, approve, and verify household eligibility applications for free and reduced-price meals.
If at least 25 percent of a school’s student population qualifies for free meal benefits, the entire school is eligible for the CEP.
“I am proud that Nicholas County Schools will be participating in the CEP program to help meet a crucial need for many students in our county,” said Terence Beam, Superintendent of Nicholas County Schools.
“We know academic achievement increases when our students are well-fed and ready to learn, and we must provide secure and reliable access to nutritious meals so all students have a chance to achieve at the highest level possible.”
Nicholas County expects 13 schools to join the CEP this year, which will include all elementary and secondary schools in the county.
The program will allow the school system to feed nearly 3,400 students each day.
According to the 2017 Feeding America report “Map the Meal Gap,” West Virginia has high levels of food insecurity and hunger.
Over 14 percent of residents and more than 79,000 children in the state live in food-insecure households.
