Chattooga County School District to offer free breakfast, lunch for all students

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Students at a north Georgia school district will receive free breakfast and lunch during the 2025-2026 school year.

The Chattooga County School District said all five of its schools are participating in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), a federal program that doesn’t require families to fill out an application for their children to receive the meals.

“Offering free meals to all students removes barriers, supports stronger academic performance, and ensures that no student faces stigma related to meal access,“ the district said in a statement. ”We are proud to offer this program, which supports student success.”

Friday marks the district’s first day of school. It’s one of the few north Georgia districts where students only attend class four days a week, from Tuesday to Friday.

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Several other districts in metro Atlanta are also enrolled in CEP. All Clayton County schools participate in the program, for instance — as do 59 Atlanta Public Schools, which is more than half the district.