West PDX Today

WASHINGTON –  On May 8, 2023, Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee Ranking Member Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) wrote to the Department of Agriculture in support of its proposal to expand children’s access to free school meals by strengthening the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).

“We commend the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA or the Department) for its efforts to ensure that students in high poverty areas have access to nutritious and free school meals. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) provide multiple benefits to students, ranging from improved attendance and educational outcomes to reduced rates of food insecurity. Additionally, students who participate in school meal programs receive half of their daily energy intake from school, making access to these meals instrumental in ensuring students do not go hungry while in the classroom,” Ranking Members Scott and Bonamici wrote. 

CEP currently allows schools to provide free school meals to all students if at least 40 percent of students are participating in certain anti-poverty programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Under CEP, more than 33,000 schools, serving more than 16 million children, have been able to streamline school meal operations and expand access to free school meals for eligible students by eliminating unpaid meal charges, minimizing stigma, and reducing paperwork for families and staff. 

The proposed rule lowers the threshold for schools to participate in CEP from 40 percent of students to 25 percent, which would provide schools with more flexibility to invest in offering free school meals for their students and allow more students to benefit from this proven assistance. 

“The Proposed Rule seeks to provide additional options for schools and districts to use CEP by lowering the participation threshold from 40 to 25 percent, in line with provision included in the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act. Lowering the threshold provides schools or districts that have slightly fewer than 40 percent of identified students the opportunity to consider participating in CEP,” the Ranking Members continued. “We appreciate that the Department has taken this important step to expand access to CEP.” 

Last Congress, Ranking Members Scott and Bonamici included this proposal—as well as a provision to increase the multiplier used to determine school reimbursement rates from 1.6 to 2.5—in their Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act, which reauthorizes and strengthens federal child nutrition programs. 

Read the full text of the letter here.

Original source can be found here.