This school year, every FDCSD building will offer free breakfast and lunch for all students through the United States Department of Agriculture’s Community Eligibility Provision program. The CEP is a federally-funded program that allows eligible schools located in low-income areas to provide free breakfast and lunch to students.

“This was welcome news,” said Brandon Hansel, executive director of financial services for the school district. “It really means a lot to our families.”

This program will have a “significant” financial impact on many families in the school district, Hansel said.

“If you add up the cost of a full-pay family for breakfast and lunch for one student, over the course of the year it’s about $750,” he said.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson Ereziah Jones, 13, an eighth-grader at Fort Dodge Middle School, adds an apple to her nutritious lunch Wednesday afternoon. Kelly Wagner, food service worker, is shown at right serving up the next dish to students.

Last year, students at Butler Elementary, Duncombe Elementary, the Early Childhood Center and Fort Dodge Middle School received free breakfast and lunch through the CEP. Families at the other school buildings could still apply for the free and reduced lunch program.

Students will automatically receive free meals starting on the first day of school, but families from Cooper Elementary, Feelhaver Elementary and Fort Dodge Senior High will still need to complete a household income survey, Hansel said. A link to the survey can be found on the district’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/FDCSD.

With school starting in just a couple weeks, some families have already deposited funds into their student’s lunch accounts, Hansel said. Those families can choose to either request a refund, have the funds transferred to cover other school fees or, in the case of middle school and high school students, use the funds to purchase ala carte items that aren’t included in the standard school lunch.

“This year the federal reimbursement rates have risen enough to make it financially viable to bring on our remaining buildings and make it district-wide,” Hansel said.

The CEP is a four-year program, Hansel said, so students will continue to receive free breakfast and lunch for the next several school years.