An exclusive from Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity
by Jessica Allred
This story relates to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the federal school meal programs, a project supported by former First Lady Michelle Obama and enacted in the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act (2010). It provides a path for high-poverty schools to serve every child breakfast and lunch free of charge, while bypassing administratively burdensome paperwork and tracking for meal program workers.
It was piloted in 11 states from 2010 until 2014. Five years after the provision’s nation-wide expansion, some districts are struggling to utilize the program effectively and maintain financial viability, prompting supporters to suggest potential congressional reforms. Read the exclusive story here.
