[Editor's note: This story was updated after publication to reflect that Decatur City Schools will not begin the CEP Program starting in the 2024-25 school year.]
Thousands of students in North Alabama will soon get free breakfast and lunch. That's all thanks to a government-funded program they're adding this fall.
 is a free meal program for students that's funded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The initiative gives low-income students free, or in some cases reduced-price, breakfast and lunch.
Families that already use federal programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program automatically get free meals. However,Ìýunder CEP, schools with more than 40 percent of low-income students can qualify to give all students free meals.
Diane Pratt-Heavner with the School Nutrition Association says this program's universally free.
Families struggling financially no longer need to apply on a regular basis depending on their school district. Meals become free for all students under this program, which she says eliminates a lot of stigma surrounding food insecurity.
"A hungry child just can't learn," Pratt-Heavner explained. "They are distractable. Sometimes, they have behavioral issues in class or act out. So, we really want to make sure all kids are nourished and ready to learn."
Some Jackson County Schools and Scottsboro City Schools announced they will start using the CEP program this fall.
and Dekalb County Schools already use the program.
Morgan County Schools uses a , but not CEP.Â
Hartselle and Madison City Schools are not currently enrolled in CEP.
MCS Superintendent Ed Nichols explains why.
"We really don't have a school that falls in that threshold that they've changed consistently," Nichols explained. "The reimbursement at that level, if we did have one at 24 to 25 percent, free reduced lunch, would not even get reimbursed in this in the process that we have now."
Pratt-Heavner says the government only pays the full freight for free meals if a school district has 60 percent or more low-income students.
"Schools have to have enough students automatically eligible otherwise they're having to invest a lot of state-level funds," Pratt-Heavner said.
Even if schools in the area do not use the program, most low-income students enrolled in government assistance programs like SNAP or Medicaid still get free or reduced-price meals.
For more information on CEP, and how it effects your child's education, contact your local school district.
Some Jackson County Schools and Scottsboro City Schools announced they will start using the this Fall.
