VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — There’s an opportunity for more students across the country, including in Hampton Roads, to receive free meals at school.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to expand a program that allows qualifying schools to feed all students breakfast and lunch each school day at no cost.
“There are kids that are out here hungry. They don’t have food at the house," said Virginia Beach resident George Marshall.
The Community Eligibility Provision, or CEP, is used as a meal service option for schools and school districts in low-income areas.
Currently, for a school to qualify, 40% of students must meet certain requirements showing a need. Students are identified, in part, based on their participation in other specific means-tested programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
A new proposal would lower the threshold to 25%, thus making many schools in Hampton Road newly eligible for the assistance.
Christopher Tan, CEO of Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and Eastern Shore, said the proposal would be a life-changing opportunity for kids facing food insecurity in our area.
“Making the criteria a quarter of students gives schools the flexibility to be able to provide food for kids who normally wouldn’t be able to get free and reduced lunch,” he said.
Schools that adopt CEP are reimbursed based on a formula using the percentage of eligible students.
For example, all students in Newport News Public Schools are eligible to receive two meals during the school year through the CEP program, according to the district's website.
A complete list of eligible schools under the current and proposed guidelines can be found by clicking here.
The program also wipes out unpaid meal charges, and advocates say it reduces stigmas, which Virginia Beach mother Tiffany Puczylowski said she dealt with as a kid.
“That kind of did mess with my self-esteem because I knew I was not on the same level," she said.
The USDA proposed the change in March and is currently seeking community feedback. A 45-day public community period ends on Monday, May 8. Comments can be submitted by clicking here.
Puczylowski said she hopes other families can get the help they need.
“My family, we went through phases where we needed that little bit of extra money and lunch could do enough," she said.