BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. – The federal program that has provided free meals for all Berkeley County students is no more, according to the school district.
For the past two years, the United States Department of Agriculture had offered waivers to school districts allowing them to offer students breakfast and lunch at no charge.
“Those waivers are now expired,” the school district said in a news release. “This means that starting in August of 2022-2023, we will return to normal pre-pandemic operations.”
As a result, Berkeley County students will not automatically get free lunch this upcoming school year.
Breakfast and lunch prices will be as follows for the 2022 – 2023 school year:
- Breakfast is $1.25
- Lunch is $2.00
Families will once again be required to complete a new free/reduced meals application to see if their student qualifies for free/reduced meals based on income.
Here is how to see if your students will qualify:
- Please complete the 2022-2023 online application which will be available on July 1,
- Once available (on July 1), the application can be found at https://berkeleynutrition.net/?page=lunchapps. (We encourage online applications to ensure prompt processing and no lost forms)
- Paper applications can be obtained at each school or at the Child Nutrition Office after July
- Once your application is received by the Child Nutrition Office, it may take up to ten (10) days to process the application.
- If there is no approved application on file for the 2020 – 2021 school year and a new application is not completed and approved for the school year 2022 – 2023, your student will be considered full pay on the first day of school.
- Until your application is received and approved, it is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to provide payment for breakfast and/or pre-payment lunch accounts may be set up by going to www.myschoolbucks.com.
If your child attends a Berkeley County Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school, you will not need to complete a free/reduced meal application. However, if you are completing a free/reduced meal application for a child attending a non-CEP school, you will need to include information on your child attending the CEP school on the application. All students at schools designated as CEP schools receive meals at no cost.
BCSD 2022-23 CEP Schools
- Cross Elementary
- Cross High
- J.K. Gourdin Elementary
- St. Stephen Elementary
- St. Stephen Middle
- Timberland High
- Macedonia Middle
- H.E. Bonner Elementary
- Cainhoy Elementary
- College Park Elementary
- College Park Middle
All families must complete a new Free/Reduced Benefits Application to determine if your student qualifies for these benefits each school year after July 1. All children starting kindergarten are considered full pay. This is why it is important to apply online starting July 1 to try and avoid any charges, the school district said.
The Berkeley County School District Child Nutrition Office said it’s committed to assisting families and making this transition back to normal operations as simply as possible. If you need any assistance or have any questions, call 843-899-8775.
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