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Thousands of students in Stanly County Schools will not go hungry as the school year begins.
Through the Community Eligibility Provision, all students are able to have breakfast and lunch for free this school year.
It does not include extra items to a meal, such as ice cream.
“This is a federal program and eligibility is based on the amount of students and families who qualify for free and reduced lunch,” SCS Superintendent Dr. Jarrod Dennis said. “Stanly County Schools is proud to be able to offer this program to our students beginning this school year. Now all students know they are guaranteed two meals each day they are at school and will not have to worry about any school lunch debt.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, “CEP allows the nation’s highest poverty schools and districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students without collecting household applications. Instead, schools that adopt CEP are reimbursed using a formula based on the percentage of students categorically eligible for free meals based on their participation in other specific means-tested programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).”
Data from SCS show 443,392 breakfasts were served, at $2.75 each, during the last school year for K-12. More than 890,000 lunches were served, at prices starting at $3.50 for Pre-K to eighth grade and $3.95 each for high school students.
Elementary schools participated in the program last year, Dennis said.
While an enrollment for this academic year will not be available for a few weeks, last year’s enrollment neared 9,000 students.

B.J. Drye is general manager/editor of The Stanly News & Press. Call 704-982-2123.