The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) allows high poverty schools to offer breakfast and lunch at no charge to all students on a four-year cycle. Schools that participate in community eligibility often see increased participation in school meals, allowing more students to experience the many educational and health benefits linked to school meal participation.
The pandemic has not slowed year-after-year gains as adoption by school districts and schools rose, leading to a corresponding growth in the number of children benefiting from community eligibility. Despite these numbers, there are many eligible schools that are not participating, even though they and their students stand to benefit from community eligibility.