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All school districts prioritize student needs in decision-making. The challenge is balancing student needs with community expectations while practicing fiscal responsibility. On a good day, the process of school district decision-making is complex with competing priorities and demands.
Addressing students’ food insecurity by maximizing participation in the USDA breakfast and lunch programs is a critical need for Ohio school districts. About 1 in 5 children in Ohio live in food-insecure households, and the rising costs of basic needs like food continue to strain family budgets (Feeding America). School meals provide about half of students’ daily recommended nutritional requirements, with food-insecure students gaining even more benefit from them (Science Direct, 2017).
How can a school district provide free meals for all students while keeping its food service account fiscally sound? One solution: implementing the USDA’s Community Eligibility Program (CEP). CEP enables districts to provide school breakfast and lunch to all students at no cost while maintaining a fiscally positive food service account. It accomplishes this by increasing USDA meal reimbursements.
Schools can participate in CEP if the school’s Identified Student Percentage (ISP) is 25% or greater. The identified students are those directly certified through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), or Medicaid (if income-eligible), or are children who are foster, homeless, migrant, runaway, or enrolled in Head Start.
The ISP is multiplied by a factor of 1.6 to determine meals reimbursed at the free rate, while the remaining meals (up to 100 percent) are reimbursed at the federal paid rate. CEP schools do not claim reduced-price meals. Once elected, schools operate the breakfast and lunch programs using CEP for a four-year cycle, with the option of opting out yearly.
Beyond the benefits to students, CEP grants numerous benefits to families and schools. Under CEP, schools no longer collect free- or reduced-price meal applications, significantly reducing administrative burdens on school staff and families. Additionally, because meals are provided at no charge, school meal debt is eliminated for families, and tracking school meal debt is eliminated for school staff. According to the School Nutrition Association, over 92% of programs that do not offer free school meals to all students incur unpaid debt:
“CEP has created an energy that continues to grow within food service operations; an energy that is reaching staff and students in buildings, contributing towards a shift within building cultures to embrace school meals, enhancing the communal benefit of shared meal experiences," said Carrie L. Kolodziejczyk, Senior Director, Child Nutrition and Food Service for Toledo Public Schools.
While CEP provides the opportunity for access to free meals, coupling innovative breakfast practices is a proven strategy for increasing breakfast participation. Successful models like Breakfast in the Classroom, Grab-and-Go, and Second Chance (serving tardy students or serving later in the morning), or a combination of models, are proven to increase participation. These reduce barriers to accessing meals by making food available where students are naturally in the building in the morning — in the classroom, halls between periods, or common spaces.
“In addition to the positive impact on students, CEP has also strengthened our program financially. The increase in meal participation has resulted in higher entitlement funding, enabling us to enhance menu quality by incorporating more fresh fruits, vegetables, and entrée options," said Suzie Gerhardt, Food Service Supervisor for Pickerington Local Schools.
The deadline to apply for CEP for school year 2026-27 is June 30, 2026. Every school district is unique and should do the necessary calculations to determine if providing free meals to all students by implementing CEP is a financially viable option. Additional information can be found through the following resources:
• ODEW: Community Eligibility Provision
• No Kid Hungry: Community Eligibility Provision
• No Kid Hungry: Community Eligibility 101 Webinar Recording
• CEP Financial Considerations for School Business Officials
• No Kid Hungry: CEP Calculator
• FRAC: Community Eligibility Making It Work with Lower ISP
• What School Nutrition Staff Need to Know about Title I funding?
CEP is an opportunity to improve the financial viability of school nutrition programs, eliminate meal debt, and increase USDA meal reimbursement while also providing the daily nutrition that all students need for their social/emotional development and academic success. Every child deserves the chance to reach their full potential and thrive, and a kid fed is a student ready to learn.
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