Georgia, Tennessee to participate in school meals demonstration project

ATLANTA — The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service Southeast Region announced Tuesday that Georgia and Tennessee are two of 14 states that have been selected to participate in the expansion of a demonstration project to evaluate the impact of using Medicaid eligibility data to directly certify students from low-income households to receive free and reduced-price school meals.

Historically, most students who receive these meals have been certified based on information they submit in an application. Officials say adding Medicaid to the list of benefit programs that can “directly certify” a student to receive free or reduced-price meals is a win-win for students, families, and school officials. This means less paperwork for families and fewer school meal applications for school districts to process and verify.