Child nutrition director reports meal increases, Farm Fresh awards and potential CEP eligibility change

Valerie Fountain, Child Nutrition director, told the Rockport‑Fulton Independent School District board Thursday the department served more meals in 2024–25 than the prior year, is running multiple summer feeding sites and won state recognition for local sourcing.

Fountain reported the district served 192,182 breakfasts and 374,364 lunches during 2024–25, an increase of 7,161 total meals from the previous year. She said the high school’s second‑chance breakfast averaged 147 students per day. Summer feeding was operating Monday through Thursday with a Thursday lunch distribution that includes weekend meals for families.

Fountain said the district is currently in the middle of an approved Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) cycle through June 30, 2027, and that proposed federal changes could raise CEP eligibility thresholds from 25% to 60%. “If this should happen, then we may no longer be able to be on CEP,” she said, adding the change may not interrupt the district’s current cycle but could take effect in a later year.

The district received the Texas Farm Fresh Challenge “cream of the crop” award and Fountain said Live Oak Learning Center was accepted for the federally reimbursable Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) beginning in October. She described planned classroom taste‑testing and education activities using items such as donut peach, cherry mango and dragon fruit to encourage students to try new produce.

Fountain also summarized upcoming USDA nutrition standard changes: product‑based added‑sugar limits for breakfast cereals, yogurts and flavored milks and a weekly cap on added sugars (targeting less than 10 percent of total weekly calories) phased in for 2027–28. She told trustees the district already limits sugar‑heavy items and does not expect large disruptions. She outlined a nondomestic food purchase cap phase‑in (10% starting July 1, then 8% in 2028, and 5% by 2030–31) and said the district currently spends about 7% on nondomestic products.

Board members praised increased participation and asked clarifying questions about how nondomestic purchases were measured; Fountain said the metric is dollars spent. She said menu additions for next year will include a chicken fajita bowl, Thai red curry chicken and rice bowl, and plans to make homemade biscuits.