Students in Greenbrier County will have the opportunity to eat a no-cost breakfast and lunch at school through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program. The CEP was enacted as a result of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act and provides universal meal service to children in high-poverty areas. This is the fourth year for the option.
The CEP serves as an alternative to collecting, approving and verifying household eligibility applications for free- and reduced-price eligible students in high-poverty Local Education Agencies (LEAs). If at least 25 percent of a school’s student population is directly certified for free meal benefits, the entire school qualifies for the option.
“I am proud that Greenbrier County Schools will be participating in the CEP program to help meet a crucial need for many students in our county,” said, Jeff Bryant, Superintendent of Greenbrier 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.”
Greenbrier County expects to have all 13 schools participate in the CEP. The program allows the school system to feed nearly 4500 students each day.
The 2017 Feeding America: Map the Meal Gap data reports high levels of food insecurity and hunger across the country. In West Virginia, more than 14 percent of residents, and over 79,000 children, live in food insecure households.
For more information, contact Heather Lively, Child Nutrition Coordinator, 304-647-6462.
GCS operates as an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, religion, gender, marital or family status, age or disabling condition in its activities, programs or employment practices as required in Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. The school system follows administrative procedures which allow any individual, including parent, student or employee to file a grievance if it is alleged that a policy, practice, procedure, or direct service provided by the school system has resulted in a violation of Section 504 or the ADA. For information about your rights or grievance procedures, contact Nancy Hanna, Greenbrier County Schools, 653 Church Street, Lewisburg, WV/ 304-647-6470 / nhanna@k12.wv.us.
