Dear United Local School District Community,
We are sending this notice to help you understand what the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is and why our district currently does not qualify for this program. The CEP allows schools to offer free lunches to all students without requiring individual applications, provided that at least 25% of the students are directly certified for free meals through programs such as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) Ohio Works First (OWF) or Medicaid (Free). Some other categories can be found on the CEP-Fact Sheet located on the Education.Ohio.Gov website.
Each month, we carefully monitor our district's percentage of directly certified students. Unfortunately, our current percentage falls below the 25% threshold required to participate in the CEP program. As a result, we cannot provide free lunches to all students at this time.
We hope this explanation clarifies the situation and helps you better understand the factors involved in qualifying for the CEP program.
Thank you for your continued support.
Melissa Baker
Treasurer/CFO