A Legacy Charter School student eats a meal after school. (File/FOX Carolina)GREENVILLE, SC (FOX Carolina) -
Lunch served at schools is a given and some kids even get breakfast before they start their day, but this year, a Greenville County cafeteria began cooking up something new - dinner.
Legacy Charter School has found a need to offer another meal for students during the school day. They received a grant from the Department of Social Services to take part in a pilot program. Administrators said that it has gotten off to a successful start, serving twice as many kids as they expected it to.
The charter school opened just last year, to fill a gap in lower-income areas known for high drop-out rates. Students are in school for an extra hour each day and the calendar stretches out longer through the year.
This year, Legacy started an after-school program where more than 250 of the school's 450 kids stay for extra tutoring or enrichment activities. They don't leave until about 5:30, but eat lunch by 11 a.m. Legacy's Executive Director Fred Crawford said 92 percent of students qualify for free and reduced lunches.
"They're hungry; they're always asking for food in the afternoon. We definitely want to meet their academic needs, but we can't do that if a child is hungry," said Assistant Principal Christopher Gist.
The DSS grant serves a free dinner to the elementary school students, as well as 150 legacy middle and high school students.
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