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Arlington Central begins districtwide community eligibility; food director warns of staffing and budget questions
Summary
Director of Food Services Mark Hicks told the Arlington Central School District board the state-mandated shift to community eligibility (CEP) requires all schools to provide two free meals daily, will raise participation from about 32% to near 100%, and creates operational and budget uncertainties the district will monitor.
Mark Hicks, Arlington Central School District’s director of food services, told the board the district has implemented the Community Eligibility Provision, sometimes called universal free meals, so every student can receive up to two free meals each school day.
“It is no cost to all students,” Hicks said, describing the change as a meal-service option that removes household application requirements and reduces stigma for students in need. He told the board the district’s enrollment that morning was 7,641 students and that under prior rules roughly 32% of students had qualified for free or reduced-price meals based on family-submitted forms.
The change, Hicks said, is now mandatory statewide through at least June 30, 2029, and shifts how the district documents eligibility. He described a tension between universal…
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