Next shutdown victim: School lunches

One rural school district is already rationing fruit and vegetables.

By KIMBERLY HEFLING and BIANCA QUILANTAN 01/17/2019 06:22 PM EST Updated 01/17/2019 07:16 PM EST

Servings of fresh fruits and vegetables are disappearing from school lunch trays in rural Vance County, N.C.

The Prairie Hills school district in Kansas is worried about not being able to feed kids at all.

On top of that, there are thousands of new kids nationwide eligible for free or low-cost school meals because their parents have been furloughed by the federal government.

With the U.S. Department of Agriculture shuttered in the dispute over funding for President Donald Trump’s border wall, school districts across the country could be faced with scraping together emergency funds to feed low-income public schoolchildren if the shutdown continues another two months.

Rural districts with smaller budgets and more limited options to scrimp may be hit especially hard, but even New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned Thursday of a coming crisis for his city’s more than 1 million students.

Under federal school meal programs, school districts typically get paid back by the federal government for the meals they pay up front to give to eligible children. But if the federal funds don’t come in, they aren’t allowed to pull from just any account to make up the shortfall.

more
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/17/government-shutdown-victim-school-lunches-1096437