The Community Eligibility Program (CEP) is a meal service option for schools and school districts in low - income areas — allowing the nation's highest poverty schools and districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students without the burden of collecting household applications. (abbeygroup.net)
Through CEP, eligible schools can provide meal service to all students at no charge, regardless of economic status and without the need to collect eligibility data through household applications. (nces.ed.gov)
CEP was created through the Healthy, Hunger - Free Kids Act of 2010, and allows qualifying high - poverty schools to offer breakfast and lunch at no cost to all students without requiring families to complete an annual household application. (nsba.org)