The rapid increase in the number of schools offering meals through the Community Eligibility Program has swept along the Kannapolis City School system in North Carolina.
The schools there have seen a 14 percent increase in the number of students eating lunch, as well as a six percent increase in breakfast participation, reports The Salisbury Post.
Officials say since joining CEP earlier this year, the district is serving 518 more lunches per day, and that about 45 percent more students are eating breakfast.
“This exceeds my expectations,” KCSD’s Vice-Chairwoman Danita Rickard told The Post. “I was really surprised that it would be this much of a difference. So that’s excellent.”
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced that participation in the federal Community Eligibility Provision—which allows schools to serve free meals to all students regardless of income—rose by 20 percent this year, which is in its second year of nationwide availability.
"Thanks to the improvements we have made in school nutrition, our nation's children show up each day to healthier school environments, where they can easily get the nutrients they need for academic success and healthier futures,” Vilsack said in a statement.
Read KCSD’s full story at The Salisbury Post.