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Beaufort County schools to expand universal free meals under USDA program
Summary
The board unanimously authorized all remaining district schools to join the USDA Community Eligibility Program for 2024–25, meaning every student at participating schools will receive one free breakfast and one free lunch each school day; staff said the change should break even and estimated a ~10% increase in meal participation at newly added schools.
The Beaufort County Board of Education on June 25 voted unanimously to authorize all remaining district schools to participate in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Community Eligibility Program (CEP) for the 2024–25 school year, expanding universal free breakfast and lunch districtwide at participating campuses.
Chief Financial Officer Tonya Crosby told the board the program provides a free breakfast and lunch to every student at participating schools and removes the requirement for families to complete meal applications, reducing unpaid meal debt and stigma. Crosby said the district currently has 24 schools in CEP and proposed adding 10 more, including Bluffton Elementary, Bluffton Middle and Bluffton High School, McCracken Middle, May River High and River Ridge Academy.
Crosby and nutrition staff said the district will claim and be reimbursed for actual meal participation by USDA rates and that prior financial modeling indicates the shift will at worst break even and could produce a small profit to reinvest in the program. Nutrition services' Joe Geiswight told the board staff expect about a 10% increase in breakfast and lunch participation at the 10 schools, calling that a “conservative” projection.
Board members asked about staffing and line time; Geiswight said the nutrition department plans to increase staff as meal service demand grows and noted the department was fully staffed at the end of the school year. The motion to authorize districtwide CEP participation for 2024–25 passed unanimously.
Staff said the food-service fund has a healthy reserve (reported at about $9 million at the end of the prior fiscal year) to cover short-term fluctuations if needed, and the district will monitor participation and reimbursements closely.
