The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) supports students, families, and schools. Find your state’s CEP fact sheet in the table below.
CEP is a win for students, families, and schools.
CEP gives all students access to the nutritious school breakfasts and lunches they need to be well-nourished and ready to learn, while reducing the stigma often present in school cafeterias when school have to track students’ eligibility for free, reduced-price, and paid meals. When students have access to free meals at school, families have lower grocery bills and more money in their household budgets to help make ends meet.
Despite its undeniable benefits, some lawmakers want to weaken community eligibility during the 2025 budget reconciliation. Their proposal would force more than 24,000 schools nationwide, serving more than 12 million children, to drop CEP. Now is the time to urge Congress to protect CEP, not weaken it.