GILBERT, S.C. — Fruit, veggies and grains are fuel for the brain at dinner time for students in Lexington County.
Gilbert Elementary School is launching an initiative called the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Students must be enrolled in an after-school program within the district to qualify.
"We started the CACFP program in the Pelion area, the two elementary schools there the beginning of the school year," said Lexington One field supervisor Polly Peyinghaus. "One started in August and one started in September and then when Gilbert came on board and decided that they were running an extended day program for students in their school, they came to us and asked about the after-school program, and we went through the application process through DSS."
The district switched from a previous snack program to this dinner program at the end of last year to offer more food to their littler learners. The program at Gilbert Elementary starts Tuesday.
"Especially during these times with COVID and people losing jobs and things like that, we felt that it was a time where we could transition from a snack to a meal to offer those students more food," Peyinghaus said.
The after school programs involve educational enrichment and physical activity.
"Some of the programs offer math and reading and science and some of the programs do homework in the afternoon with the children and a hungry child cannot learn," Peyinghaus said.
These schools are in higher need and the district has to provide free and reduced lunch numbers, district finances, educational elements and other information in the application in order to qualify.
Any student at Gilbert, Pelion or Fort Ponds Elementary can be involved in these free after school programs, meaning anyone can get a free dinner.
Parents just need to contact an administrator if they would like their student to be involved.