CCSD Students To Receive Free Meals

RISON - All students in the Cleveland County School District can receive free breakfast and lunch during the 2026-27 school year after the Cleveland County School Board voted to join the USDA Community Eligibility Provision program Monday night.The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program allows schools to provide every student with breakfast and lunch without requiring households to submit school meal applications.Individual schools or school districts are eligible for CEP if at least 25 percent of the combined student enrollment is categorically eligible to receive free school meals. That criteria is based on students who participate in federal benefits programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Medicaid.Superintendent Davy King thanked Joesetta Beard, child nutrition director for the district, for compiling the data to make the district eligible. King told the school board that 53 percent of the students met the criteria, which put the district well above the 25 percent threshold.The six board members present for Monday night’s meeting voted to join the CEP program. Board member Tony White was not at the meeting.During the discussion, King explained the district will still need to have students eat in the lunchroom to make it financially feasible since the funding is based on the number of breakfasts and lunches served. He said this will be a four-year program, and it does not guarantee the district will have all its food expenses covered since the funding is based on student participation.Beard told the board that many of the surrounding school districts are already participating in the CEP program, and most of those are operating with a positive cash flow through the program.This year, King said the school lunch program finished with about a $3,000 shortfall, though Beard noted that the district is currently collecting on about $5,00...