Free Meals Will Continue For Jackson County School Students

All Jackson County School students will get free breakfast and lunch for the next four years.

Director of Schools Kristy Brown said the school system reapplied for the Community Eligibility Provision program. Brown said it is important for the system to go after every program that can help families in Jackson County.

“Families have not had to budget that for school meals for their students in the last few years,” Brown said. “That can be significant if you all of a sudden have to start paying for that.”

Brown said the school system is eligible because of the rate of low income families in the county. Brown said the system went ahead to get four more years of the free meal program while the system was eligible.

“We were able to get that approved so that ensures that for the next four years, that all of our students in all of our schools will continue to get free breakfast and free lunch,” Brown said. “Which is a huge benefit to our families and we’re glad that we’re able to do that.”

Community Eligibility Provision is a universal meal plan under the National School Lunch Program.

To be eligible to participate, a district, a school, or a group of schools from the same district must have a directly certified identified student percentage of at least 40 percent. An identified student can mean a student in a home that qualifies for SNAP or food stamps.