With a new semester brings free breakfast and lunch for all Hamblen County Schools’ students. West High is considered one of those Community Eligibility Provision schools. According to Mrs. Jennifer Buchanan, director of Hamblen County Schools Nutrition, “The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is a non-pricing meal service option for school districts in low-income areas. CEP allows high poverty school districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students without collecting household applications.”
The reason the Spring semester prices are affected is because the
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved it to begin mid-year due to a substantial increase in directly certified data. Buchanan also explained, “Hamblen County's free and reduced lunch percentage, as of December 2023, is 77.6. I do not have data from other states to compare our poverty rate.”
The free breakfast and lunches do not include all items. Only reimbursable meals by the USDA are covered. Buchanan remarked, “All ala carte items and extras would be excluded. These would be things like ice cream, chips, drinks, extra servings of any meal item, etc.”
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