HAMBLEN COUNTY, Tenn. — The Hamblen County Board of Education announced students in the district will be eligible for a free breakfast and lunch every school day, starting Jan. 4, in a letter sent to parents and posted online by a school board member.
The district said Hamblen County Schools qualify for the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which reimburses the nation's highest-poverty schools for meals for students, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture website. School districts qualify for the program if the percentage of students who are eligible for free meals is over 40%.
Hamblen County Schools will provide 1 breakfast and 1 lunch to each student on every school day, the letter said. It doesn't erase current lunch balances or lunch debts, the letter said.
The district will re-evaluate participation in the program in late spring, the letter said.