FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Students at seven Florence School District One elementary schools will be offered free meals for the coming school year.
According to Florence School District One, those schools are Dewey L. Carter Elementary, Henry Timrod Elementary, Wallace Gregg Elementary, Theodore Lester Elementary, North Vista Elementary, Greenwood Elementary, and Savannah Grove Elementary.
Students at those schools will receive free breakfast and lunch for the 2019 – 2020 school year. This is thanks to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.
Parents with children at these schools will not have to fill out an application for the free or reduced-cost meal program. However, applications will have to be filled out for students at other schools.
“Providing students with a free nutritious meal at breakfast or lunch, or even both, just makes sense,” said Florence 1 Schools Superintendent Dr. Richard O’Malley. “Our job as a district is to make sure that students are learning so that whatever path they take, college or workforce, they are successful. They can’t be successful if they are hungry.”
Schools can qualify for the CEP if the number of students that would qualify for meal assistance exceeds 40%. For the seven schools listed 50.91% – 71.53% of students qualify for meal assistance.
Other school districts participating in the CEP program include; Darlington County, Chesterfield County and Florence School District Two.
Parents that do not want their children to participate in the CEP may discuss the matter with Kaya Day on an informal basis, or make a formal appeal by sending a letter addressed to Kaya Day, Florence 1 Schools, 319 South Dargan Street, Florence, SC 29506.