Sikeston R-6 will offer free breakfast and lunch to elementary, alternative school students

SIKESTON — Students who attend Sikeston R-6 elementary schools and the alternative school have the option to receive free breakfasts and lunches in the new school year.

According to district officials, all students who attend the Kindergarten Center (including prekindergarten), Lee Hunter Elementary, Matthews Elementary, Southeast Elementary and the Sikeston Alternative School can eat breakfast and lunch at no charge throughout the 2018-2019 school year, which begins Aug. 15.

District officials said studies have shown that children who are not hungry perform better in school. By providing school meals to all children at no charge, the district hopes to to create a better learning environment for Sikeston R-6 students, officials said.

The school breakfasts and lunches served by Sikeston R-6 follow the U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines for healthy school meals.

The free breakfast and lunch program cannot succeed without parent support, according to district officials. Parents are asked by officials to encourage their children to participate in the school meal programs.

Providing meals at these schools at no charge to families is possible through the district’s participating in the Community Eligibility Provision, or CEP, the district said. CEP allows school districts in high-poverty areas to provide meals at no cost to all students in schools that qualify based on their identified student percentage, or ISP, according to Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. A school or a group of schools must meet the 40 percent ISP threshold and other eligibility criteria.

Students may be classified as “identified students” when they (or a household’s member) receive benefits through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Students who are also identified by the district as homeless, migrant, runaways, or foster children may also be considered.

Household applications for free and reduced price meals will not be collected at CEP school sites. However, for Sikeston R-6 parents whose children attend both a CEP and non-CEP school need to contact the non-CEP school (Fifth and Sixth Grade Center, Junior High or High School) their child is attending for more information on meal pricing and how to apply for free and reduced price meal benefits, officials said. Parents who have children who attend a non-CEP school will need to complete a free and reduced meal application for their household. All children in the household will be included on the application, including those that are attending a CEP school, according to DESE.

Other Southeast Missouri school districts participating in the CEP program include Poplar Bluff, Delta, Malden, Richland, Chaffee, Charleston, Gideon, Hayti, Caruthersville and Scott County Central, according to DESE.