The Houston County Board of Education implemented the Community Eligibility Option (CEO) for Free Meal Reimbursement as of the 2013-2014 school year.
Through CEO, 10 schools will offer meals free of charge to all of their students. CEO will be available to the entire country in the 2014-2015 school year. The following schools will offer breakfast, lunch and snack (if the school has an approved after school program) at no charge to the student: Centerville Elementary, Lindsey Elementary, Linwood Elementary, Miller Elementary, Northside Elementary, Northside Middle, Parkwood Elementary, Pearl Stephens Elementary, Russell Elementary and Westside Elementary.
Director of Houston County school nutrition Meredith Potter commented, “We are excited about the opportunity to reach more families through CEO. Properly nourished children more actively participate in their educational experience, which benefits them, their fellow students, and the entire school community.”
To qualify, a school must have 40 percent or more students eligible for free meals based on direct certification. Children are considered directly certified if they live in households that participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR).
In addition, foster, homeless, runaway or migrant children are included in the directly certified category. Schools will be re-evaluated yearly to determine if they continue to meet CEO criteria.
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