{"id":12169,"date":"2023-04-19T13:50:43","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T13:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/south-carolina\/?p=12169"},"modified":"2025-04-09T18:45:21","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T18:45:21","slug":"new-expansions-to-summer-meals-in-south-carolina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/south-carolina\/2023\/04\/19\/new-expansions-to-summer-meals-in-south-carolina\/","title":{"rendered":"New Expansions to Summer Meals in South Carolina"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"12169\" class=\"elementor elementor-12169\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-36f07ac7 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"36f07ac7\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-6c99c540\" data-id=\"6c99c540\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4416a776 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4416a776\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For kids who receive school meals, the summer months can be the hungriest time of year. While summer meal programs were designed to help connect kids with the nutrition they need when schools are closed, they\u2019ve historically reached only a fraction of eligible children.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But soon that will change. At the end of 2022, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nokidhungry.org\/blog\/big-win-kids-congress-approves-new-funding-summer-meals\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Congress approved a significant investment in how we reach kids with the food they need in the summer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2013 an incredible step forward in ending childhood hunger in the U.S and one the most consequential changes to federal nutrition programs in years. These changes will soon go into effect and No Kid Hungry is working hard to ensure eligible schools and communities have the information they need to participate and to help families learn about new summer meal options and additional nutrition assistance available for their kids.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some of these changes include:\u00a0<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Grocery benefits for families to buy food in the summer through Summer EBT<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Non-congregate meal options for kids who could benefit from summer meals but can\u2019t access traditional sites<\/span><\/li><\/ul><h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This month, we want to take the opportunity to illustrate why the need for these new programs is so great, particularly in South Carolina.<\/span><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While much of our immediate focus is on non-congregate meal implementation, we also want to highlight the substantial impact that the expansion of Summer EBT, or Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer, will have on children and families. This legislation established Summer EBT as a permanent, nationwide program that provides families with benefits to buy groceries in the summer months when school meals are not widely available.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The program was first piloted in 2010 and has been proven to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/fns-prod.azureedge.us\/sites\/default\/files\/ops\/sebtcfinalreport-summary.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">decrease the number of kids who didn\u2019t always have enough to eat by one-third<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A similar program operated during the pandemic known as Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer, or Pandemic EBT, provided over $64 billion benefit dollars to families.\u00a0<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Starting summer of 2024, families whose children qualify for free and reduced-price meals can receive $40 a month on an electronic benefits transfer card that they can use to purchase groceries for their kids during summer months. This benefit will adjust to inflation.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While Summer EBT will not go into effect until 2024, Summer Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) is still available in South Carolina this summer and provides $120 per child during the summer. School-aged children that receive free or reduced price meals or SNAP should receive these benefits automatically. Make sure families know to submit a school meal application to qualify for Summer P-EBT\u00a0 .<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the best ways to feed kids is to ensure their families have the resources they need to buy food. Summer EBT is a big deal for working families, helping to make up for the meals that kids might miss during summer break.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Historically, the summer meals programs are often one of the most under-utilized child nutrition programs in the country. In fact, 6 out of 7 kids who may have needed summer meals pre-pandemic were missing out. This is primarily due to major barriers that stand in the way of participation:<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kids are required to eat their meals on site, but with many parents at work and school buses out of service for the summer, transportation can be impossible;<\/span><\/li><\/ul><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In rural areas and the suburbs, kids can live miles away from meal sites;<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Summer storms and extreme heat often close sites.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">During the pandemic, participation soared to levels never before reached, jumping 123% from the previous summer. <\/span><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><b>This was largely due to the widespread waiver authority that USDA took to allow meal service flexibilities, such as non-congregate meals and multi-day distribution.\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c879026 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c879026\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3><span style=\"color: #ffffff\"><b>First, what are non-congregate meals?<\/b><\/span><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;color: #ffffff\">Non-congregate meal service refers to a meal service model that allows meals to be consumed off-site. Typically, sites that operate non-congregate models operate via grab and go or in some cases, home delivery.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-071364c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"071364c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Unfortunately, last summer, without these widespread flexibilities, the number of summer meals served returned back to pre-pandemic levels.<\/span><\/p><p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12170 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/south-carolina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2023\/04\/Picture1-300x220.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/south-carolina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2023\/04\/Picture1-300x220.png 300w, https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/south-carolina\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2023\/04\/Picture1.png 531w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This year,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fns.usda.gov\/blog\/usda-celebrates-2022-summer-meals-champions-looks-ahead-summer-2023\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> non-congregate meal options are available in rural-designated areas<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">if the state agency opts in to participate. This change offers a transformative opportunity to address transportation challenges facing rural communities head on.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In South Carolina the Department of Education<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">opted in to participate in this program and is waiting for final USDA approval for this summer. No Kid Hungry South Carolina is thrilled that South Carolina<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">kids will have access to non-congregate meals in rural communities in addition to traditional summer meal operations this summer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As school districts and community sponsors prepare to serve their communities, No Kid Hungry is here to support your efforts in reaching as many children as possible. You can click <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSfvSFEhBRGREBp15Rb47r8ypZGsQ66qj2pUTpG-htNx1vIwrA\/viewform\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to submit an inquiry for assistance if you are in a rural area and are planning to serve non-congregate meals this summer.<\/span><\/p><h2><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><b>Summer 2023<\/b><\/span><\/h2><p><strong>Webinars:<\/strong><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractices.nokidhungry.org\/webinars\/spread-word-summer-meals-and-summer-pandemic-ebt-outreach-and-promotion\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Spread the Word: Summer Meals and Summer Pandemic EBT outreach and promotion<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">April 25 @ 3:00PM EDT<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractices.nokidhungry.org\/webinars\/strategies-improve-summer-meals-experience-kids-and-families-0\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Strategies to Improve the Summer Meals Experience for Kids and Families<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">May 23 @ 3:00pm EDT<\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><strong>Resources:<\/strong><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractices.nokidhungry.org\/resource\/successful-non-congregate-meal-service-models-rural-areas-implementation-guide\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Successful Non-Congregate Meal Service Models for Rural Areas: Implementation Guide<\/span><\/a><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractices.nokidhungry.org\/resource\/grab-go-success-stories-missoula-food-bank-community-center-montana\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Grab &amp; Go Success Stories &#8211; Missoula Food Bank &amp; Community Center, Montana<\/span><\/a><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bestpractices.nokidhungry.org\/resource\/grab-go-success-stories-lowcountry-food-bank-south-carolina\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Grab &amp; Go Success Stories &#8211; Lowcountry Food Bank, South Carolina<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As we look to next summer, USDA will be seeking immediate feedback as they begin the process for writing the \u2018final rule\u2019 for non-congregate meals and Summer EBT which will be the official guidance for state agencies and program operators as they seek to operate the program year after year. <\/span><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><b>Stay tuned for additional opportunities to provide feedback!<\/b><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The pandemic highlighted the lasting impact that non-congregate meals and Summer EBT can have in communities across the country. While No Kid Hungry is excited about the opportunity this summer presents in operating non-congregate programs in rural communities, we also recognize that there is still work to be done to ensure this program is reaching as many eligible children as possible so that every child has access to 3 meals a day, 365 days a year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For kids who receive school meals, the summer months can be the hungriest time of year. While summer meal programs were designed to help connect kids with the nutrition they&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":12182,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12169","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-blog"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>New Expansions to Summer Meals in South Carolina - SOUTH CAROLINA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/south-carolina\/2023\/04\/19\/new-expansions-to-summer-meals-in-south-carolina\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Expansions to Summer Meals in South Carolina - SOUTH CAROLINA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For kids who receive school meals, the summer months can be the hungriest time of year. 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