SUMNER CO., Tenn. (WTVF) — Some Sumner County students get free meals this school year under a federal program
Students at about 30 Sumner County schools will receive free breakfast and lunch every school day this school year under a federal program that bases eligibility on how many students are enrolled in food assistance programs like SNAP.
The Community Eligibility Provision, or CEP, allows schools to provide free meals to all enrolled students at no cost when at least 25% of their student population qualifies for food assistance programs. Sumner County Schools has enrolled all eligible schools in the program.
Under CEP, families at participating schools do not need to fill out free or reduced-price meal applications. Families will still need to complete a Household Income Survey to participate in fee waivers.
The following schools are participating in the program this school year:
- Benny Bills Elementary
- Bethpage Elementary
- Clyde Riggs Elementary
- Gallatin Early Learning Center
- Gallatin High School
- Gene W. Brown Elementary
- Guild Elementary
- Howard Elementary
- J.W. Wiseman Elementary
- Lakeside Park Elementary
- Millersville Elementary
- Nannie Berry Elementary
- North Sumner Elementary
- Portland Senior High
- Portland East Middle
- Portland West Middle
- Portland Gateview Elementary
- Joseph Shafer Middle
- R.T. Fisher
- Rucker Stewart Middle
- V.G. Hawkins Middle
- Vena Stuart Elementary
- Walton Ferry Elementary
- Watt Hardison Elementary
- Westmoreland Elementary
- Westmoreland Middle
- Westmoreland High School
- Whitten Elementary
The following schools are not participating in the program this school year:
Hendersonville area:
- Beech Elementary
- Beech High School
- Hendersonville High School
- Indian Lake Elementary
- Jack Anderson Elementary
- Knox Doss Middle School
- Merrol Hyde Magnet School
- Robert E. Ellis Middle School
- Station Camp Elementary
- Station Camp Middle School
- Station Camp High School
- T.W. Hunter Middle School
White House area:
- Harold B. Williams Elementary
- White House Middle School
- White House High School
Other schools not participating:
- Madison Creek Elementary
- Oakmont Elementary
- Union Elementary
Participating CEP schools are concentrated in Gallatin, Portland, Westmoreland, Millersville, and Bethpage. Most of the schools not participating are in Hendersonville, Station Camp, and White House.
Not all Sumner County schools qualify to participate under federal guidelines. Schools like Hendersonville High School do not meet the eligibility threshold, while Gene Brown Elementary and Gallatin High School do.
The district can either look at the student population at each individual school or group schools together to determine whether they meet the 25% threshold. The Sumner County School Board has not approved free meals for all schools, as some other districts have done.
Organizations like First Baptist Church in Hendersonville work to fill the gap. The church provides food for about 650 children every week through a backpack program.
"That food is designed for the kids to put in their backpack on Friday, take it home to ensure that they have food during the weekend," said Bruce Raley, of First Baptist Church. "We have no qualifiers whatsoever. We trust people. If they say they need food, we believe they need food, we're going to provide it for them."
Raley said the mission remains the same regardless of where the food comes from.
"Our goal is to make sure that every family in Sumner County has the food they need."
Are you a Sumner County parent, student, or community member with a story to share about food insecurity or school meal access? We want to hear from you. Watch the full report above and reach out directly to reporter Kim Rafferty at kim.rafferty@NewsChannel5.com — your experience could help shape our next story on this issue.
In this article, we used artificial intelligence to help us convert a video news report originally written by Kim Rafferty. When using this tool, both Kim and the NewsChannel 5 editorial team verified all the facts in the article to make sure it is fair and accurate before we published it. We care about your trust in us and where you get your news, and using this tool allows us to convert our news coverage into different formats so we can quickly reach you where you like to consume information. It also lets our journalists spend more time looking into your story ideas, listening to you and digging into the stories that matter.
Kelsey Gibbs brings us a powerful story of humanity, compassion, and love in action while showing us the hard and lifesaving work our officers do daily. Nashville is lucky to have people like Lt. Hotz wearing the badge.
- Carrie Sharp
