Community Eligibility Provision

CEP stands for Community Eligibility Provision, a program from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service that allows schools and school districts in low-

income areas to offer free meals to all enrolled students. CEP is part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 and is an alternative to traditional

paper applications for school meals. Instead, CEP uses information from other programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), to determine which students are eligible for free meals. Schools that adopt CEP are then

reimbursed based on the percentage of eligible students.