Fattah Statement on Nationwide Launch of Community Eligibility Provision for Free School Lunch

The national program that went into effect this school year is based on a Philadelphia pilot program championed by Congressman Fattah which expands the eligibility for all students in districts across the country to receive free meals

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Office of Congressman Chaka Fattah

Sep 08, 2014, 04:07 ET

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), the 10-term Philadelphia Congressman, released a statement on the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, that recently began nationwide implementation for the 2014-15 school year. A proponent of the program, and the Congressional leader on universal feeding, Fattah was instrumental in passing the legislation to create CEP based off a pilot program in his Philadelphia district:

"As students across the nation return to school this fall, hundreds of thousands more children, including more than 140,000 in Philadelphia, will receive a free lunch without completing paperwork thanks to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), a key element of the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

"Modeled after the successful universal school feeding pilot program in Philadelphia, I introduced a bill to use the unique partnership between the Philadelphia School District and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a prototype to expand the program nationwide. Due to this legislation, the Community Eligibility Provision allows eligible, high-poverty schools and districts to reduce the administrative burden and offer free breakfast and lunch to all enrolled students. Today we celebrate the success of moving this hometown model to help all students across the country—from Pittsburgh to Fresno—receive a free, nutritious meal at school.

"The goal is to ensure that every student in the United States has access to a nutritious lunch during the school day; providing a healthy meal is critical to their ability to learn and succeed in the classroom. This program reduces the bureaucracy and stigma involved for families applying for free or reduced lunch, while creating a healthier school environment. Because of the innovative pilot that started with students in Philadelphia, more than 28,000 schools across the country are now eligible to offer CEP—more than one in five U.S. schools."

www.fattah.house.gov

SOURCE Office of Congressman Chaka Fattah