Are all Rock Hill-area feeding programs ending in July? Where to get free summer meals

Alex Zietlow
·2 min read
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Some local school districts are providing summer meals.

After two years of providing free meals to all students during the school year and during the summer months — a relic of the recovery efforts amid COVID-19 — it appeared that some local school districts would discontinue that practice once federal waivers expired on June 30.

But a law signed last weekend by President Joe Biden extended some food assistance measures for children — a consequential move as the U.S. inflation rate recently rose to the highest levels it has seen in four decades.

Here are a few places where you can receive free meals throughout the summer in York, Chester and Lancaster counties. Here’s what you need to know.

York School District One

YSD1 is providing summer feeding for community members under the age of 18 at different locations this summer. There’s no paperwork to fill out, per a media release on the district’s website — all kids and teens need to do is visit one of the sites below to receive the free meal.

Seven-day meal kits will be distributed once a week on Wednesdays — at York Comprehensive High School (10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.); Hickory Grove Elementary School (10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.); Circle of Love (12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.); and First Baptist Church (10 a.m. to 12 p.m.).

On Monday through Thursday, kids and teens also can pick up daily meals between June 6 and July 28 at Hickory Grove Sharon Park (12 p.m. to 1 p.m.) and York One Academy (12 p.m. to 1 p.m.).

Food costs have increased because of the aforementioned global inflation, district spokesperson Tim Cooper said, but that hasn’t altered the feeding program.

For more information, visit york.k12.sc.us/summerfeeding.

Chester County School District

Since June 6, the Chester County School District has provided free lunches to children 18 and younger, continuing a program that began in 2021.

Meals will be available Mondays through Thursdays between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at the following locations: Chester High School, Great Fall High School, Lewisville High School, Metropolitan AME Zion and Harmony Baptist Church.

No ID is required, according to a release, but the child has to be present during pickup and must eat on site.

Rock Hill Schools

The district has been serving meals throughout the month of June. Starting July 5, summer meals will be offered at Castle Heights Middle School for school-aged children. Breakfast will be available from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

The program will be available until August 5.

For more information, visit the Rock Hill Schools website.

Clarification: A previous version of this article stated that the federal waivers — the ones that allowed local school districts to provide free meals over the summer — expired. That version did not explain that a new law extended some food assistance measures for children. This story has been updated.