Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)
The Community Eligibility Provision within the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs allows schools in high-poverty areas to offer nutritious meals at no cost to all students regardless of income level.
Dear CEP school families,
For the past four years, your school has been part of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program, which has provided free school meals to all enrolled students without requiring families to fill out free/reduced lunch applications. Schools qualify for this program based on the percentage of families who participate in the following federal programs: Food Stamps (SNAP), Medicaid-Free, Foster Care, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or McKenny Vento (homeless).
Unfortunately, our four-year CEP program concluded last school year and we did not have enough of our families participate in the federal assistance programs listed above to qualify for enough ongoing funding to fully cover operational costs. Realizing the strain many of our families have endured over the past couple of years, Salt Lake City School District and our Child Nutrition Department have agreed to cover any additional program cost to continue the CEP program at our school during the 2022-23 school year.
Please be aware that the number of families using federal assistance programs at your school must increase this year for us to continue providing a CEP program in future years.
If you have questions about whether your family qualifies for any of the federal assistance programs mentioned, please visit www.benefits.gov or contact our district Child Nutrition office at 801-974-8380.
Questions and Answers:
1. What Salt Lake City School District schools have been approved to participate in CEP for the 2022-2023 school year?
The following Elementary Schools have been approved: Liberty, M. Lynn Bennion, Meadowlark, Riley, and Edison.
2. Should I apply for free and reduced meal benefits if my student attends a CEP school?
All students who attend approved Elementary schools, regardless of income level, are eligible to receive one free breakfast and one free lunch each day they attend school. Free and reduced meal benefit applications will not be collected at these five CEP school sites.
IMPORTANT - Parents must remember to fill out a free and reduced meal benefit application for their entire household if they have children attending other schools, or if their student transfers from a CEP school to attend another school in the Salt Lake City School District. Free student meal benefits do to transfer with the student when they transfer out of a CEP school.
3. Can my student purchase an extra milk or a second meal?
Students at a CEP school are eligible to receive one free breakfast and one free lunch each day that they attend school. However, if the student elects to take an extra milk or a second meal, their school meal account will be charged the full price for the extra milk ($0.50), second lunch ($3.75), or second breakfast ($2.75).