By Jenna Oden

All students in Pike County School system will have the opportunity to receive breakfast and lunch at no charge during the 2018-2019 school year.

“We are super excited to see the program enter our schools and the results of it,” said Brooke Terry, Child Nutrition Director.

Schools are eligible for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) meal program when at least 40 percent of its students are “directly certified.” This year will be the pilot year for the program and students have to participate in it for it to be successful, Terry said.

“I have confidence in this program and that it will work for us,” Terry said. “We will be able to check every month to see how successful it is.”

Students will go through the same process to get their lunches and still punch in their lunch pin numbers – it will now simply be of no charge to them. The program also eliminates the need for parents to fill out the free and reduced household meal application.

“The burden of parents having to go through the process of making lunches for students for school will be gone,” Terry said. “Not only that, but the financial burden will be gone for families. Parents can go into the new school year not having to worry about packing or paying for lunches.”

The schools provide a protein, grain, vegetable and milk that students can choose to get with the lunches, but will have to pay if they want a second serving or extra food items.

“We hope to see an increase in students eating breakfast and lunch, especially now that it is at absolutely no charge to them,” Terry said. “Students who eat will succeed more in the classroom because meals equal brain power, so we hope to see an increase in classroom success as well.”