We start Tonight with an update on a story we first told you about a few weeks ago.
School administrators and service agencies nationwide are scrambling as a Federal program that provided Billions of dollars to feed students will likely be ending within a few months.
It was new for the pandemic era, waivers, and funding support, from the Federal Department of Agriculture, through the first COVID-19 Relief Bill, lifted restrictions on school meals. Millions more kids received free meals in the past two years.
The waiver program now expected to end, at the end of this school year
“So that means we sill no longer be able to serve school meals free of charges, as we’ve done during the past two years,it certainly impacts families as they’re dealing with higher grocery prices, now they’re going to have to put into their budget school meals as well”
Public donations while they wont make up the Billions spent for the Federal School Waiver Program none the less, are still very helpful. Tuesday Morning the Giant Corporation donating close to $19,500 to the State College School District, money that will go to the district’s Summer lunch program donated by grocery store customers
“We have alot of customers with questions about school lunch programs. but as its explained to us there are many different programs that are not funded, the backpack program, the summer programs that still need alot of funding”
Those on the front lines providing meals to kids, also dealing with continuing supply chain issues
“We’re looking at every possible avenue, we’re joining buying clubs and things like that, because the food is just not there”
Another challenge in getting back to so called normal
“Our school and schools everywhere, we’re dealing with labor shortages. we’re dealing with the difficulties with the supply chain, so being able to feed students free of charges has streamlined our systems”
