Southern Tioga School District to offer free school meals for students

Tioga, Pa. — The Southern Tioga School District announced that it will be offering free school meals to all students for the upcoming school year.

"We are pleased to inform you that the Southern Tioga School District will be implementing a new program known as the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) in the 2024-2025 school year," the district wrote in a public announcement.

All enrolled students at Southern Tioga School District are eligible to receive a nutritional breakfast and lunch meal each school day, according to the district. Related Reading: Montoursville School District to offer free school meals for all students The CEP program is a non-pricing meal option for school districts in low-income areas, according the the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). CEP "allows the nation’s highest poverty schools and districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students without collecting household applications," according to the USDA's website . Instead of collecting household applications, schools using CEP are reimbursed "using a formula based on the percentage of students categorically eligible for free meals 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)," according to the USDA.

Children in the district will be able to participate in the free school meal program as long as the district continues to be approved for the CEP program. Menus for the district's school meals can be found here . The program does not include a la carte options, according to the district.