Who says there is no such thing as a free lunch? In Union County Public Schools there is! And free breakfast too! This upcoming 2014-15 school year ALL UCPS elementary schools will be serving free breakfast and lunch to every student.
UCPS is offering these free meals by participating in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for Breakfast and Lunch program. CEP is a component of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Over the past three years, 11 states have piloted the program, which goes nationwide in the 2014-15 school year. For the current 2014-2015 school year, Morganfield, Uniontown, and Sturgis elementary schools will be participating in the CEP program. This means all students enrolled at any of these schools will participate in the breakfast/lunch program at no charge to them or to the District.
There are only two things all students will need to do to ensure the success and continuation of the program for ALL students: (1) complete a household income form (HIF); and (2) eat the free breakfast and lunch each day.
Household Income Form (HIF)- Every household in each of these schools will need to complete a Household Income Form (HIF) and return it to the school office. The HIF will not be used to determine student eligibility—ALL students are automatically eligible for breakfast and lunch. The HIF forms are required by the Kentucky Department of Education in order to determine the important primary funds our district will receive including SEEK (Support Education Excellence in Kentucky), federal Title I programs, and E-rate Technology Funding.
Participation in Meal Program- It pays our district to serve free meals but there must be high participation from all students, regardless of household income status (high or low) by eating breakfast and lunch. Under the Community Eligibility Provision, we will need nearly all of our students eating the free meals this year for it to continue to be provided next year. With CEP, 84% of the district’s meals will be reimbursed with federal funds at the federal free rate (last year it was $2.88 per meal) and 16% will be reimbursed at the paid rate (last year was only $.29). UCPS will pilot the program for one year at each of the elementary schools, and if the program is successful, it will be continued.
The CEP is one of the USDA’s federal provisions to increase access to the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast. To be eligible, schools must have a minimum of 40 percent of students who are directly certified by the state to receive free meals. A student is certified if their family participates in either the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Cash Assistance, Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations and Medicaid. Students who are homeless, runaways, migrants, live in foster care, or participate in Head Start early childhood education programs are also identified
During the 2013-14 school year, the school District served a total of 87,479 breakfasts and 140,807 lunches in the elementary schools. The district expects more children will take advantage of the free meals — particularly breakfast — but can’t be sure until school starts. This program will only be available in the three elementary schools and does not include al a carte items. The other schools in the district will still offer free and reduced breakfast and lunches. For more information regarding the Community Eligibility Program, please contact Food Services Director Shane Bosaw at 270-389-0263 or 270-389-1694.
UCPS is offering these free meals by participating in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for Breakfast and Lunch program. CEP is a component of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Over the past three years, 11 states have piloted the program, which goes nationwide in the 2014-15 school year. For the current 2014-2015 school year, Morganfield, Uniontown, and Sturgis elementary schools will be participating in the CEP program. This means all students enrolled at any of these schools will participate in the breakfast/lunch program at no charge to them or to the District.
There are only two things all students will need to do to ensure the success and continuation of the program for ALL students: (1) complete a household income form (HIF); and (2) eat the free breakfast and lunch each day.
Household Income Form (HIF)- Every household in each of these schools will need to complete a Household Income Form (HIF) and return it to the school office. The HIF will not be used to determine student eligibility—ALL students are automatically eligible for breakfast and lunch. The HIF forms are required by the Kentucky Department of Education in order to determine the important primary funds our district will receive including SEEK (Support Education Excellence in Kentucky), federal Title I programs, and E-rate Technology Funding.
Participation in Meal Program- It pays our district to serve free meals but there must be high participation from all students, regardless of household income status (high or low) by eating breakfast and lunch. Under the Community Eligibility Provision, we will need nearly all of our students eating the free meals this year for it to continue to be provided next year. With CEP, 84% of the district’s meals will be reimbursed with federal funds at the federal free rate (last year it was $2.88 per meal) and 16% will be reimbursed at the paid rate (last year was only $.29). UCPS will pilot the program for one year at each of the elementary schools, and if the program is successful, it will be continued.
The CEP is one of the USDA’s federal provisions to increase access to the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast. To be eligible, schools must have a minimum of 40 percent of students who are directly certified by the state to receive free meals. A student is certified if their family participates in either the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Cash Assistance, Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations and Medicaid. Students who are homeless, runaways, migrants, live in foster care, or participate in Head Start early childhood education programs are also identified
During the 2013-14 school year, the school District served a total of 87,479 breakfasts and 140,807 lunches in the elementary schools. The district expects more children will take advantage of the free meals — particularly breakfast — but can’t be sure until school starts. This program will only be available in the three elementary schools and does not include al a carte items. The other schools in the district will still offer free and reduced breakfast and lunches. For more information regarding the Community Eligibility Program, please contact Food Services Director Shane Bosaw at 270-389-0263 or 270-389-1694.