There’s enough funding for Kentucky kids to get school meals through March. Then what?

Anderson County Schools Superintendent Sheila Mitchell recently joined her peers across the nation in signing a letter urging President Donald Trump and lawmakers to pass legislation that would secure school lunch funding during the government shutdown.

“It is imperative to continue to provide hot meals for our students whether the government is shut down or not,” Mitchell said Thursday. “Many of our children depend on our lunch program to provide two hot meals each day. While our food service program has historically been self sufficient, withholding funds would quickly deplete the program’s contingency.”

Mitchell responded to a nationwide request of superintendents from Future Ready Schools, an organization that promotes digital learning, to sign a letter to Trump, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. It is expected to be sent Monday, according to its website.

A draft of the letter encourages lawmakers to end “this political food fight” by “passing and signing the House- passed appropriations bill (H.R. 265) for the U.S. Department of Agriculture” to continue to receive funding.

Mitchell and other Kentucky school officials are concerned that the partial government shutdown, which began Dec. 22 and is the longest in U.S. history, could affect federal school meal programs.

The issue drew national attention last week following a Charlotte Observer report that school officials in Vance County, North Carolina, are revising lunch menus “to a minimum level to conserve food and funding” starting Jan. 21. “Fresh produce, bottled juices and water, and even ice cream” are among the items affected.

Scott Anderson, Food Service Director for Madison County Schools in Richmond, posted Tuesday on Facebook and assured families there that students would continue to be fed during the shutdown.

Anderson noted in the post that there were news reports “that school lunch will now be the next to go due to the federal shutdown.”

“Yes the funds will eventually stop if the shutdown goes on. However, Kentucky has enough funds to help till March and Madison County has the funds to finish out the year. We will not stop feeding students and will keep our quality and offerings,” he said.

In response to the national concerns, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue tweeted last week: “There’s understandable concern about child nutrition programs, but this needs to be clear: USDA’s child nutrition programs are funded quarterly and are fully funded through the end of March. Includes National School Lunch, School Breakfast, and Child & Adult Care Food programs. “

The Kentucky Department of Education has shared with local school nutrition directors a January 8 memo from the USDA Food and Nutrition Services that says, “to ensure that programs can continue to operate without threat of disruption, FNS has provided State Agencies with additional available appropriated funding,” and that with these funds and those previously received, programs can operate “at normal levels well into the month of March.”

Mitchell said that for many in Anderson County, the school lunch program is the primary source of food during the school week.

“In addition, community partners provide weekend food backpacks and have food pantries available for many of our children.” If school lunch funding is withheld, “it will make it difficult to find the funding to provide hot meals for our children who depend on us,” she said.

In Fayette County, there will be no changes to the school meals provided for students, said district spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall.

“We have been notified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that they will provide funding through March, and if the shutdown continues after that, Fayette County’s Child Nutrition Program will utilize their operating expenditure reserves to cover costs for the remainder of the school year,” she said.

Jessica Fletcher , a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Education, said Thursday that local districts have been sent a letter saying the department is closely monitoring the federal government shutdown. School districts have been told to continue to operate their meal programs in accordance with state and federal requirements.

On Tuesday, the non-profit professional organization, the School Nutrition Association, urged Congress and President Trump to resolve the federal government shutdown before any lapse in school meal funding occurs.

Meanwhile, some Kentucky schools are reaching out to families who work for the federal government and are furloughed to encourage them to apply for free or reduced price school meals for their children.

“We know that the government shutdown has had an impact on many families and we want to help you,” Adele Gormley the principal at Stephens Elementary School in Boone County posted on Facebook Tuesday. “If you are federal government employee and are not being paid, your income from your job is $0. If you qualify, the benefits will continue through the end of the school year.“

This story was originally published January 24, 2019 at 2:09 PM.