BRIDGEPORT — Bridgeport Exempted Village School District is offering free breakfast and lunch to all students this school year.

Although breakfast has been free for several years at the school, students now also receive lunch for free. Superintendent Brent Ripley said the new policy has been going great so far.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer free breakfast and free lunch for all students this year,” Ripley said. “Bridgeport’s goal is to make sure all students have access to both lunch and breakfast at no cost.”

Bridgeport schools used to operate on the National School Lunch program, where parents would fill out free and reduced lunch applications, which would qualify some families.

“So, this just allows us to offer those families as well a free lunch,” Eric Meininger, treasurer for Bridgeport schools, said of families who might not qualify.

Ripley said the staff has been watching the numbers for free and reduced-price eligible students for years, and it was time to pull the plug and take a chance.

Now, the school has shifted to a program to operate under the Provision 2 (P2) of the Office of Nutrition at the Department of Education & Workforce, which is intended to benefit schools with a high percentage of free and reduced-price eligible students. Meininger said Bridgeport schools’ was near 70%, so the school applied for the free lunch program.

Food service Director Donna Burlenski said this new program is helping students from elementary to high school. She noted that high school students can benefit from this by still having spending-money for other things, such as snacks.

“I’ve been praying for this,” she said. “This is just helping kids tremendously.”

Ripley said although it is not required to apply for the free lunch, the school is asking every family to, so the school can collect applications and data to shift the program into next year.

“If they want it to go on next year, then we need to make sure we apply,” he said.

The Provision 2 operates on a four-year cycle, with the school applying for extension of the program by providing socioeconomic data indicating the school’s population income level has remained the same or increased only slightly at the end of the fourth year.

To participate in the free lunch program, the school is required to perform direct certification and collect applications for the first year, called the base year. The school then continues to count and claim meals using standard meal counting and claiming procedures during the base year to establish reimbursement percentages, with applications not collected after the base year.

Meininger and Ripley said their hope is to break even after giving all students the opportunity to receive a free lunch, while they take a “small hit.”

Ripley said the schools’ food count has been up with the cafeteria serving anywhere from 390 to 425 students every day, whereas last year the cafeteria only served 400 students one day with them paying. In all of Bridgeport schools including pre-K, there are 806 total enrollments.

He said more students are eating now than in past years.

“More kids are eating, so less kids are going home hungry when they leave us,” Ripley said. “And they may be coming to us hungry, but we’re able to provide them with two meals.”

Meininger said moving forward, the school will look at the Community Eligibility Provision. He said right now, the school has a waiver submitted through the state to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and if approved, it would move from Provision 2 to Community Eligibility Provision, which would bring in additional revenue to the district for kitchen equipment and personnel instead of breaking even.

Bridgeport schools also have another program called the “puppy pantry” where students can take anything they need off the shelf without anyone asking questions, as well as working with Belmont County to offer free meal kits to students.

Ripley said this is a way to keep relationships with families strong by saving the families money because of all of the positive support they give the school.

Ripley said the board of education is very thankful for the support from the community.

“It’s just a way to say thank you, and to help kids and make sure everyone’s fed,” Ripley said. “And we offer that to everybody, even the working class families. You know, if they don’t have time to make a lunch, their kid can eat free here now.”