DEADLINE - Attention Select High School, Middle School and Elementary School Families!

Cumberland County Schools (CCS) Child Nutrition Services (CNS) is urging parents of students in non-Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools to submit the 2022-2023 Free and Reduced-Priced Meal Application before traditional schools begin.

 

Applications can take up to 10 days to process. To avoid meal charges at the beginning of the school year, parents and guardians must submit the application online as soon as possible and no later than August 22 by visiting www.LunchApplication.com. 

 

Universal free lunch has ended. While all students throughout the district can still receive breakfast at no cost, students at non-CEP schools must pay for meals or qualify for free lunch for the upcoming school year. Of the district’s 86 schools, over 25% are non-CEP schools. To find out if your child’s school participates in CEP for the 2022-2023 school year, visit the Child Nutrition CEP webpage. 

 

Students whose applications are approved before August 31 may become eligible to receive Summer P-EBT benefits. 

 

Meal Price Increase Reminder:

During the Cumberland County Board of Education’s (Board) regular June 2022 meeting, the Board considered and approved the first meal price increase for students at non-CEP schools since 2017. CCS CNS submitted to the Board a meal price increase of $0.50 for full-pay students at non-CEP schools.

 

Approved 2022-2023 School Year Prices (includes $0.50 increase):

Students in all grades with free lunch: Free

Students in all grades with reduced-price lunch: $0.40

Non-CEP Elementary School Students — Full-Pay: $2.65 

Non-CEP Middle and High School Students — Full-Pay: $2.75 

 

Despite this increase, CCS’ 2022-2023 full-pay meal cost remains $0.25 to $1.00 lower than meal costs in comparable N.C. school districts. 

 

The CEP, as defined by the USDA, is a non-pricing meal service option for schools and school districts in low-income areas. 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. Approximately 73% of the district’s schools are CEP schools.

 

For more information about CCS’ Child Nutrition Services and to find the free and reduced lunch application, please visit the Child Nutrition webpage.