Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is a meal service option that allows schools and school districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students attending a brick and mortar school building, without the burden of certifying students for meal benefits. Schools that adopt the CEP are reimbursed using a formula based on the percentage of students who are normally certified for free school meals, without an application.

All students attending a brick and mortar school building will be eligible to receive one free breakfast and one free lunch per day. If they get anything extra, it will be charged to their account. 

For Elementary schools, total meals are counted and not tracked individually by student, unless they get additional meals, which would then be charged to their meal account.

For Secondary schools, students will continue to enter in their ID numbers as they go through the cafeteria line, so meals will be tracked but not be charged unless they get more than one in a day.

During the 23-24 school year only certain schools qualified for this program, but it has been expanded to all brick and mortar schools for the 24-25 school year. Virtual academy students are not included in this program since they would not be a physical school site everyday.

A school or district may elect for CEP if at least 25% of its students are “directly certified,” or otherwise identified for free meals through means other than household applications. Identified students includes students directly certified through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); children experiencing housing instability and are identified for McKinney-Vento services, and Medicaid.

For a complete breakfast students must select at least three of the four offered food items, including at least ½ cup of fruit.

For a complete lunch students must select at least three of the five required food components; Protein (Meat/Meat alternative), Grain, Vegetable, Fruit, and Milk, including at least ½ cup of fruit and/or vegetable.

Just like the free and reduced meal program, students can get one free breakfast and one free lunch per day. If a student requests an additional meal, it will be charged to their meal account using their student ID number.

Schools also have a sharing table and which students are encouraged to utilize if they are still hungry but don’t need a full second meal. Students are also welcome to go back to get more from the salad bar anytime during the lunch period.

Yes, students are always welcome to get a complete breakfast or lunch at school regardless of what they brought from home. 

Students are able to purchase milk for $1.00, however if students take a milk as part of a complete meal, which would include 2 other meal components, one being at least 1/2 cup of fruits or vegetables, then it would be considered a reimbursable meal and would be free. 

No. All TTSD students are automatically eligible for free meals. Applications are not needed and will not be accepted by the district.

There are two ways:

• If applicable to your family, you can use your direct certification letter that you received by email or mail, which states that you qualify for other assistance programs.
• Complete the household income information in ParentVue when selecting Online Registration and Update Student Information.

For money in the account, you have the following options:

1. Leave it in the account. Funds stay with your student(s) throughout their time at TTSD. If they might use it in the future or they plan to sometimes get second meals, this could be a good option.

2. Transfer the funds to a sibling in the district. As long as they are on your LINQ Connect account, you can transfer funds by logging into your account.

3. Donate unused funds to Nutrition Services. Email us at ttsdfoodservice@ttsd.k12.or.us and we can process this request.

4. Get a refund for the money you have already deposited into your student's account. See our Refund Request page for more information.

If you have a negative balance (you have a balance due because your student was charged for second meals), please continue to pay if you can. Your negative balance will remain on your account.

Yes, TTSD pre-k students are included, however Headstart students are NOT included because they are not part of TTSD enrollment.

At Elementary schools, accounts will only be charged if second meals are being taken. At Middle and High schools, students will still be entering the ID numbers, so all meals will be shown on their transaction history.

We encourage you to connect with your students to see if they are consuming meals and what part of the meal they are consuming, it’s a great way to reconnect after the day. Please reach out to your student’s teacher and office to communicate if you would like to make sure your student only eats meals brought from home.