Community Eligibility Can Mean Free School Meals in Low-Income Areas
Educators know that children who are hungry cannot learn. Hunger is an everyday reality for millions of children across the country – in a series of recent surveys, one in four families in the U.S. with children reported being unable to afford enough food.
School employees are all too familiar with “hunger headaches,” and know that these are the children who are more likely to be absent and tardy, and often have a hard time focusing and behaving in class. Education professionals see first-hand how all of the federal, state, and local dollars spent on education have little impact if classrooms are full of hungry students.
Now schools across the country have the opportunity through the Community Eligibility Provision to ensure that low-income children have access to school breakfasts and lunches at no charge – while reducing administrative burden and streamlining the school meal programs. This will allow more students to eat, and more time for school staff to focus on the nutritional and educational needs of their students rather than on paperwork.
Less Paperwork for Schools
Besides increased participation in school meals, the biggest difference schools will see under community eligibility is the application process. Schools that adopt Community Eligibility are still reimbursed through the regular process, but instead of being based on applications, reimbursements are based on a formula tied to the number of low-income students who are automatically eligible for free school meals through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program) − or another designated program serving low-income families.
To qualify for community eligibility, 40% or more of the total enrollment in a school, group of schools, or the district must be certified for free school meals without a paper application. These are children who are in foster care or Head Start, are homeless, migrant or living in households that receive SNAP, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cash assistance or the Food Distribution on Indian Reservation benefits. Community Eligibility is currently available in 10 states plus the District of Columbia and will become available for districts in all states beginning with the 2014-2015 school year.
A Win-Win for Schools – But the Clock is Ticking
Community eligibility is a good call for school districts, but the clock is ticking: School districts have until June 30 to decide whether to participate for the 2014-2015 school year.
The 4,000 schools where Community Eligibility already has been implemented have realized huge benefits. According to a 2013 report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Food Research and Action Center, “Community Eligibility: Making High-Poverty Schools Hunger Free,” Community Eligibility is making a profound difference for students and schools. Schools in Illinois, Kentucky and Michigan (three states that participated in Community Eligibility for two years) saw lunch participation rise by 13 percent – an increase of more than 23,000 additional children eating lunch daily. Breakfast participation increased by 25 percent, resulting in more than 29,000 additional children eating breakfast daily.
The benefits don’t end there. Community Eligibility is a catalyst for other improvements to the school meals program. For example, in West Virginia where they are in their second year of implementation, community eligibility is helping schools employ innovative breakfast strategies, like breakfast in the classroom. Participation in breakfast has increased, leading to reduced costs and higher quality meals.
TAKE THE NEXT STEP
- Find out if your school is eligible for Community Eligibility.
- If you want to bring Community Eligibility to your school district, visit FRAC’s resource section for more information. Then talk to your school district about why Community Eligibility is a win for schools and students. Use FRAC’s Community Eligibility fact sheet (downloadable PDF file) to help you have that conversation.
Posted by Madeleine Levin
on May 15, 2014