MOULTRIE, Ga. — The Colquitt County School Nutrition Department will continue to participate in a free meal program for the 2021-2022 school year.

The department has participated in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for Free Meal Reimbursement since beginning implementation in School Year 2015, the school system said in a press release. Through CEP, a school district, a group of schools, or a single school may offer meals at no charge to all students.

Colquitt County School Nutrition reduces administrative and printing costs by participating in CEP and eliminating the need for meal applications. Families also benefit from the elimination of completing and submitting meal applications.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 includes the implementation of CEP to ensure that every student in low-income neighborhoods and/or districts can participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP). To qualify, a district or school must have 40 percent or more of its students eligible for free meals based on direct certification, the school system said.