CITIZEN STAFF REPORT

WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — Mingo County students will once again benefit from free breakfast and lunch through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program as the new school year begins, school officials announced this week.

The CEP, established under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, offers universal meal service to children in high-poverty areas.

This marks the fourth year that Mingo County schools have implemented the program.

The CEP provides an alternative to the traditional process of collecting and verifying household eligibility applications for free and reduced-price meals. Schools qualify for the program if at least 25% of their student population is directly certified for free meal benefits.

All nine schools in Mingo County are expected to participate in the CEP this year, enabling the district to serve nearly 3,600 students daily.

According to 2017 data from Feeding America’s “Map the Meal Gap,” West Virginia faces significant challenges with food insecurity, with over 14% of residents, including more than 79,000 children, living in food-insecure households.