School District of Lee County students will receive free breakfast and lunch again this year through the district’s participation in the Community Eligibility Program under the National School Lunch/National School Breakfast Programs.
The program is offered to every student in the district’s 82 traditional schools, four special centers and four charter school locations.
“The school district qualifies for the CEP based on the percentage of students directly certified for free meals, typically through programs like SNAP, TANF or Medicaid. Using last year’s Direct Certification data, our district exceeded the 60% threshold for economic need, making us eligible to participate. The federal government provides a formula to determine reimbursement rates for schools participating in CEP, which helps fund our Food and Nutrition Services program,” School District Food and Nutrition Services Director Kandy Messenger said…