WOODLAWN - Students in the Woodlawn School District will be receiving both free breakfast and lunch after the district announced through social media Monday it had been accepted into the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program. Starting with the 2025-26 school year in August, all students will receive free breakfast and lunch every day with no applications required.The district noted in a Facebook post that CEP only affects lunches moving forward. Any student with an existing unpaid balance in the cafeteria will still be required to pay that off.CEP is a federal meal service option that allows eligible schools and school districts in high-poverty areas to provide free breakfast and lunch to all enrolled students, regardless of household income.Woodlawn Superintendent Dr. Kevin Hancock said they have been monitoring the criteria used in school lunch programs over the past few years, and discovered that the CEP program is based on the percentage of Medicaid eligible residents within a district rather than solely on the percentage of students receiving free and reduced lunches. While Woodlawn may not have qualified under the percentage of free and reduced lunches, he said it does with the Medicaid criteria.Hancock said the CEP funding is for four years before the district will have to reapply....
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