All Lexington County school districts are again participating in a federal program that offers students no-cost meals.

Through the Community Eligibility Provision, which assists schools in low-income areas with food service, all students at schools in Lexington County Districts 2 (serving Cayce, West Columbia and Springdale), 3 (serving Batesburg-Leesville) and 4 (serving the Swansea area) will receive free breakfast and lunch during the 2023-24 school year.

In addition, students at 11 schools in Lexington-Richland School District 5 (serving Chapin, Irmo and parts of Columbia) and four schools in Lexington County School District 1 (serving Lexington and surrounding areas) are also covered by the program.

The participation of all schools in District 2 represents a substantial expansion from last year, when only Cayce Elementary, Congaree Elementary, Wood Elementary, Pine Ridge Middle and New Bridge Academy were part of the program. The district has 12 schools in addition to the Lexington 2 Innovation Center, and includes two high schools in Brookland-Cayce and Airport.

This is the second-straight year that students at all four District 3 schools, including Batesburg-Leesville High, will be eligible for no-cost lunches through the program.

According to Lisa Ingram, District 4’s benefits and public relations coordinator, it has “been doing this for many years.”

For District 5, it’s the second-straight year it has taken part. This year, CrossRoads Intermediate, Dutch Fork Elementary, Dutch Fork Middle, H. E. Corley Elementary, Harbison West Elementary, Irmo Middle, Irmo High, Leaphart Elementary, Oak Pointe Elementary, Nursery Road Elementary and Seven Oaks Elementary will all be covered, a significant expansion from the seven schools that were covered last year.

As it did last year, Lexington County School District 1 (the largest district in the county with 27,854 students as of the last student headcount) will have its schools in the Pelion area (Forts Pond Elementary, Pelion Elementary, Pelion Middle and Pelion High) covered by the provision.

Per the most recent student headcounts available from the state Department of Education, there are 27,854 students in District 1, 8,613 in District 2, 1,964 in District 3, 3,533 in District 4 and 17,458 in District 5.

“The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), a key allocation of The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, eliminates the requirement for parents/guardians to fill out Free and Reduced Meal applications for the upcoming school year,” District 3 explains in a release. “CEP also promotes equity across the district by eliminating out-of-pocket school meal costs for all families. In addition, the CEP program will make it easier for Lexington 3’s dedicated child nutrition staff members to streamline meal service operations and expand reach so that all students are nourished and ready to learn and grow.”

The district notes that families may add money to their children’s account for the purchase of additional food items if they wish to do so.

District 2 notes that “parents/guardians who do not want their child/children to participate in CEP may discuss this matter with Pam Bienkoski, in the Lexington 2 district office, on an informal basis.”

“The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is a non-pricing meal service option for schools and school districts in low-income areas,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture explains on its website.

“CEP allows the nation’s highest poverty schools and districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students without collecting household applications. Instead, schools that adopt CEP are reimbursed using a formula based on the percentage of students categorically eligible for free meals based on their participation in other specific means-tested programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).”