Beaufort County schools offer free meals to all students at 13 more schools. What about yours?
Thirteen more Beaufort County schools will be included in a federally funded program that provides free breakfast and lunch to all students in schools consisting of more than 40% low-income students.
The Community Eligibility Provision will provide the meals at no cost to all enrolled students in 25 of Beaufort County’s 37 schools without requiring applications, unlike the National School Lunch Program. Parents or guardians don’t have to take any action for their student to be included. CEP was established in 2010 and is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Schools are reimbursed for the meals by the USDA based on what percentage of their students are eligible for free meals according to other means-tested programs, like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
“This is the most (schools) that have been added in quite a while,” food service accountant Ginger Weekly said. The county started with eight schools.
During COVID, the USDA provided all students with free meals and the 2022-23 school year was the first year since COVID all student’s meals weren’t free. Therefore, this is the first time since COVID that the district was able to do an eligibility reassessment — resulting in more schools being added, according to Weekly.
The district’s overall average poverty rate is 55.9%, which is lower than the state’s 60.6%, according to district spokesperson Candace Bruder.
“(Students) are just gonna get lunch like regular (operations),” Weekly said. Students will go through the line and put their lunch pin number in like normal to record the meals. It will go through the point-of-sale system, even though the account won’t have money in it.
The servings will meet federal and state guidelines, which include requirements for students to take fruit and vegetables with their meals. Students will have to pay for anything outside of the four breakfast items and five lunch items allowed under the program.
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Other schools will continue to offer free and reduced-price lunches to students whose families apply and demonstrate financial need through the National School Lunch Program. Through this program the district provides free meals to more than 10,000 students and reduced-price lunches to about 1,300 students, according to Bruder.
If parents don’t want to participate and want to pay for their student’s lunches, they can opt out by calling 843-322-0806.
The thirteen new schools are:
- Academy for Career Excellence (ACE)
- Battery Creek High School
- Beaufort High School
- Beaufort Middle School
- Hilton Head Island Early Childhood Center
- Hilton Head Island Elementary School
- Hilton Head Island School for the Creative Arts
- Daufuskie Island School
- Hilton Head Island Middle School
- Lady’s Island Middle School
- Michael C. Riley Elementary School
- Michael C. Riley Elementary School Early Childhood Center
- Red Cedar Elementary School
A complete list of schools participating in the program are:
Academy for Career Excellence
Battery Creek High School
Beaufort Elementary School
Beaufort High School
Beaufort Middle School
Broad River Elementary School
Hilton Head Island Early Childhood Center
Hilton Head Island Middle School
Hilton Head Island Elementary School
Hilton Head Island School for Creative Arts
Daufuskie Island School
James J. Davis Early Childhood Center
Joseph Shanklin Elementary School
Lady’s Island Elementary School
Lady’s Island Middle School
Michael C. Riley Early Childhood Center
Michael C. Riley Elementary School
Mossy Oaks Elementary School
Port Royal Elementary School
Robert Smalls Leadership Academy
Red Cedar Elementary School
St. Helena Elementary School
Whale Branch Early College High School
Whale Branch Elementary School
Whale Branch Middle School
This story was originally published July 21, 2023 at 12:04 PM.
