CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It's been 27 days since the federal government entered a partial shutdown and it's now impacting what some children have in their school lunch.
The shutdown sent several federal agencies scrambling for cash, and school leaders in Vance County said it left them no choice but to conserve food and funding. In a post on the district's Facebook page, Vance County administrators said school lunches will be reduced to what they call minimum level starting the week of January 21.
What is a minimum level lunch? It means students will receive one main dish, such as a sandwich, a piece of bread, two vegetables and milk. Students will no longer be given the option of bottle juice or water. Only elementary schools will receive fresh produce as part of a separate program, which is being reduced to just two days during the shutdown.
NBC Charlotte contacted eight school districts in the Charlotte area and none of them said they plan on making changes to their lunches at this time, but they are keeping in contact with food service providers to make sure they don't run out of supplies going forward.