SC school meals get relief from government shutdown

Low-income students in S.C. schools will continue to get free and reduced-price meals through the end of the school year despite federal money for the program being threatened by the partial government shutdown.

The S.C. Department of Education received word from the U.S. Agriculture Department Wednesday that money for the program, which feeds thousands of S.C. students, will continue until June, spokesman Ryan Brown said Thursday.

Officials had worried that money would run out at the end of February if the shutdown continued. The partial closure of the federal government — including the Agriculture Department, which pays for the schools meal program — was in its 27th day Thursday.

In South Carolina, almost 500,000 low-income students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The state was reimbursed $291 million for the meals last school year.

This story was originally published January 17, 2019 at 11:15 AM.