School system continuing no-cost lunches, breakfasts

Unicoi County Schools has posted its policy for free and reduced-price meals for children served in schools under the National School Lunch Program and/or School Breakfast Program for the 2026-2027 school year. According to a release sent out by Judy McCurry, the School Nutrition Administrative Assistant for the school system, Unicoi County will continue participation in the Community Eligibility Provision. No further action is required of families or students. This USDA provision allows children to participate in the school meal programs without having to pay a fee or submit a meal application, according to the release. CEP is a key provision of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, which allows schools and school districts in low-income areas to eliminate school meal applications and serve breakfast and lunch at no charge to all enrolled students. CEP gives food service professionals more time to focus on preparing nutritious meals that their students will enjoy and gives students more time to eat those meals by cutting down on time spent in the lunch line. More importantly, by oﬀering all students a nutritious breakfast and lunch at no cost, CEP helps ensure more students come to class well-nourished and ready to learn. Children need healthy meals to learn. Unicoi County oﬀers healthy meals every school day. Breakfast and lunch meals follow the U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines for healthy school meals, so please encourage students to participate. The release makes note of the fact that in the operation of child feeding programs, no child will be discriminated against because of race, sex, color, national origin, age or disability. Parents or guardians who need further information are asked to contact Michael Smith, Child Nutrition Program Director, at (423) 743-1613 or at smithm@unicoischools.com.