Greenbrier County Schools to offer free meals to students

GREENBRIER COUNTY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Students in Greenbrier County will have access to free breakfast and lunch at school through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program.

The initiative, now in its fourth year, was established under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act to provide universal meal service to children in high-poverty areas.

The CEP program eliminates the need for collecting, approving, and verifying household eligibility applications for free and reduced-price meals.

Schools qualify for CEP if at least 25 percent of their student population is directly certified for free meal benefits.

“I am proud that Greenbrier County Schools will be participating in the CEP program to help meet a crucial need for many students in our county,” said Jeff Bryant, Superintendent of Greenbrier County Schools.

“We know academic achievement increases when our students are well-fed and ready to learn, and we must provide secure and reliable access to nutritious meals so all students can achieve at the highest level possible.”

All thirteen schools in Greenbrier County participate in the CEP, allowing the school system to feed nearly 4,500 students daily.

According to the 2017 Feeding America, Map the Meal Gap data, West Virginia has high levels of food insecurity and hunger, with over 14 percent of residents and more than 79,000 children living in food-insecure households.