Meal Benefits
Based on current eligibility, all LPSS school sites will participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program for the 2023-2024 school year. CEP is an alternative to the traditional Meal Benefit Application Program that qualifies the individual student to receive free or reduced-price meals. Due to the increased number of students that are directly certified to receive free meal benefits through other federal programs, all LPSS students will benefit from the CEP program.
What does this mean for students enrolled at LPSS schools?
• All students are now eligible to receive breakfast and lunch meals at school for the entire school year at no charge
• The traditional Meal Benefit application will be replaced with an Economic Data Survey. This survey will be requested from the household of a student that does not receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or Medicaid benefits; only one survey per household is needed.
• Student household data reported in the Economic Data Survey will be used only for the purpose of obtaining state and federal funding for LPSS
• Households will be notified when the Economic Data Survey is available, in both the paper and electronic format.
For more information regarding the CEP program in Lafayette Parish, contact Elizabeth Reid, Meal Benefits Coordinator at 337-521-7375 or email emreid@lpssonline.com.
Community Eligibility Provision
Program Fact Sheet
CEP Points of Interest:
❖ Introduced by USDA as a result of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, effective July 1, 2014
❖ An alternative to the traditional meal benefit application process
❖ No meal benefit application is distributed or processed
❖ Provides free breakfast and lunch meals to students attending schools that qualify for the program
CEP Success Stories:
❖ Increased Meal Participation
❖ Increased Classroom Readiness
❖ Decreased Financial Burden to Parents
❖ Decrease in Meal Benefit Documentation
❖ Decrease in Audit Findings
Student Meal Account Balances in LPSS Schools:
❖ A student account that has a positive balance (money available) remaining from prior school year can:
A. Use for the purchase of extra sale items such as milk, juice, and water
B. Transfer to the meal account of a sibling with a prior year balance
C. Request a refund using the Student Meal Account Refund/Transfer Form found on LPSS website
D. Donate remaining student meal account funds to apply to other student accounts that do not have meal benefits
❖ A student account with a negative balance that accumulated in prior school years when meals were served and there was no money in the student account (Meal of the Day, double card usage) is the responsibility of the parent or guardian for payment.
A. Students with a negative account balance carried over to the 2023-2024 school year will continue to receive a notification letter periodically sent to student household in order to collect balances on unpaid meal accounts.
B. Meal Payments continue to be accepted on student meal accounts either by check made payable to the student's school cafeteria or by using MySchoolBucks payment system.
Questions and concerns regarding the USDA Community Eligibility Provision Program in LPSS schools and Meal Payments can be directed to the Meal Benefits Coordinator at 337-521-7375 or email emreid@lpssonline.com.
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