Students at all elementary schools in the Daviess County Public Schools district are receiving free breakfast and lunch for the current academic year. District officials said that’s led to a 12% increase in the number of students eating lunch at school.
DCPS Director of School Nutrition Connie Fillman said they only expected a 2% increase from August to December 2023.
“Our lunches served this school year show that half of our elementary schools have increased participation by over 10%, with an average of all elementary schools being 12%,” Fillman said.
The free meals are possible due to DCPS joining the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program, which provides all students with free meals regardless of their household income. In years past, the cost of meals for DCPS students was based on their family’s income. Some students paid full price ($1.50 for breakfast and $2.50 for lunch), some paid a reduced price, and some qualified for free lunch.
Fillman said part of the increase is likely due to the families that were close to qualifying for free/reduced lunches now eating meals provided by the school.
According to Fillman, the CEP program is based on “categorical eligibility.” Schools are reimbursed using a formula based on the percentage of students categorically eligible for free meals based on their participation in other specific programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
Fillman said they have received $490,000 more in funds this year than last. With the extra funds, Fillman said they have been able to update and improve kitchen equipment and better train staff.
“These numbers give us a good foundation to go from as we look into the possibility of adding additional schools to this program in future years,” Fillman said.
When the DCPS Board of Education approved the elementary schools joining the CEP program in July 2023, Fillman said the goal was to expand the program to all grade levels, but the middle and high schools don’t qualify yet.
Even though they have not received any funding yet, Fillman noted that the middle and high schools are seeing a 10% and 4.5% increase in lunch participation, respectively.
Fillman said the program will be deemed successful if the district doesn’t have to dip into the general fund to offset the food services budget. More data will be compiled over this semester to see the change throughout the year.
