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More Henrico County Public Schools students are receiving free meals this school year.
Most of the institutions newly eligible for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Community Eligibility Provision are in Henrico’s West End. Through the program, students in low-income areas can receive free breakfast and lunch daily, according to the USDA, which in October 2023 lowered the threshold for school eligibility.
Families with students at the new schools — Davis, Maybeury, Pinchbeck, Springfield Park and Varina elementary schools; Hungary Creek, Quioccasin and Tuckahoe middle schools; Varina High School and the CODE RVA magnet school — were notified in August by mail; no further action is required by them.
“School nutrition programs are required to analyze the financial viability of adding new schools to their CEP program annually, per federal regulations,” Director of School Nutrition Services Dana Whitney said in a statement provided by a division spokesperson. “HCPS School Nutrition Services has aggressively expanded the program to include 49 locations since [school year 2016-17].” The spokesperson did not respond to questions about what directly led the institutions to become eligible this school year.
HCPS notes that, as of November 2023, 42% of its 48,949 students are considered economically disadvantaged. The school division is also waiving the cost of reduced-price meals for eligible students, which it did last academic year.
The program is one of several ways the USDA works to provide free or reduced-price meals to public school students. One method, direct certification, identifies individuals whose households participate in certain federal assistance programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid. Virginia Department of Education notes that direct certification through Medicaid has allowed more schools to participate in the CEP.
