Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)

Public Media Release Community Eligibility Provision

Effective July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024

Florence School District 3 is participating in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for the 2023-2024 school year. Section 104(a) of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 amended section 11(a)(1) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1))(the law) to provide an alternative to household applications for free and reduced-price meals in local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools with increased levels of low-income students. This alternative is referred to as the Community Eligibility Provision. All students enrolled in the school/district may participate in the breakfast and lunch program at no charge to them. Families will not have to fill out meal applications.

Breakfast and lunch meals follow the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines for healthy school meals. Please encourage students to participate in the school meal programs.

You may contact your School Food Service Supervisor, Valerie Mouzon, for additional information.

Parents or guardians that do not want their child/children to participate in CEP may wish to discuss this matter with Valerie Mouzon, Supervisor of the Food Service Department of Florence District 3 on an informal basis.

Parents wishing to make a formal appeal may make a request either orally or in writing to Valerie Mouzon, Supervisor, whose address is: Florence School District 3 School Food Services, 125 S. Blanding Street, Lake City, South Carolina 29560, for a hearing to appeal the decision.

This release was sent to the following newspapers: Morning News and Lake City News and Shopper

Non-Discrimination Statement

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

1. mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or

2. fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or

3. email:
[email protected].