A webinar for state agency and school food authority staff focused on the community eligibility provision.
The Community Eligibility Provision is a National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program meal service option that allows schools and school districts located in high poverty areas to offer breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students.
A final rule, Child Nutrition Programs: Community Eligibility Provision-Increasing Options for Schools (88 FR 65778), was published on Sept. 26, 2023, with an effective date of Oct. 26, 2023, that established the 25 percent minimum ISP threshold. As a result, more students, households, and schools have the opportunity to experience CEP’s benefits, such as increasing access to school meals at no cost, eliminating unpaid meal charges, minimizing stigma, and streamlining meal service operations.
This webinar gives an overview of the rulemaking process, highlights specific regulatory changes and provisions that impact the school meal programs, and provides information regarding resources for the final rule.
Check out this database to access vendor-specific product information for all direct delivered USDA Foods for the National School Lunch Program.
USDA Foods from Farm to Plate e-letters feature resources, news, and best practices, rotating our monthly focus between a trio of program-specific e-letters.
These resources provide school nutrition professionals with the knowledge and tools to implement and meet the professional standards requirements within their programs.
This map contains links to state-specific information on local educational agencies and schools that may be eligible to elect the Community Eligibility Provision.
USDA support for school meals in fiscal years 2021-2024.
The USDA Foods Toolkit is a collection of valuable resources to assist child nutrition professionals in effectively using their USDA Food entitlement and to help them educate students, staff, and the community about the healthy contributions that USDA Foods provide to their meal programs.