Per Terri Hedrick, Public Information Officer for Vance County Schools:
Right now, Vance County Schools has one-and-a-half months of funding reserves to support our School Nutrition Program if there is no funding available through the USDA.
At least 75 to 80 percent of our students throughout the Vance County school district eat lunch each day. The number can fluctuate, because some students bring their lunch some days and students are absent, etc. For our breakfasts, approximately 60 percent of students district-wide eat each day. Again, this number can fluctuate some from day to day.
We can promise our community that we will do what is necessary to provide breakfast and lunch each day in school to all students. We’re continually assessing our situation to stay on top of the funding limitations during the shutdown. We know we are okay with food reserves and available funding through March. Beyond that, no one, including other counties, knows what might happen. We’re in uncharted territory with this shutdown. No previous shutdown has ever lasted this long.
Currently, we have no issues with breakfast or lunch for students in our schools. Things are progressing smoothly. The only change being made starting Tuesday, January 22, 2019, is that students won’t have a choice of two entrees (meats) for their lunches. There will be no ice cream as this is considered an extra menu item.
Please understand the steps we are taking are precautionary to ensure we stretch our food supplies and funding as much as possible.
– Terri Hedrick, Public Information Officer
Vance County Schools