Prince George's County schools offers free meals to students impacted by shutdown this week
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - Prince George's County schools will offer free meals to any student whose family is impacted by the government shutdown for the rest of the week.
The meals will be available to any student who requests them.
"No parent should fear their child will not eat because they cannot afford to pay. In fact, our existing policy ensures that every child within Prince George's County Public Schools receives something to eat, even if they cannot pay," said Interim CEO Monica Goldson.
Over the weekend, school board member K. Alexander Wallace - who represents District 7 in Prince George's County - wrote a letter Saturday to Goldson.
On Monday, Goldson said her team examined a proposal to provide free meals to all impacted students.
The meals will be provided until the end of the week - Jan. 8 through Jan. 11.
Officials said it is unlikely that they will continue to provide free meals if the shutdown continues indefinitely.
However, the district is providing families that may temporarily qualify, the opportunity to apply for the free and reduced-price meal program and we are expediting the processing time for affected applicants
Prince George's County is home to several federal offices, including the Food and Drug Administration, National Archives, Goddard Space Flight Center, the Census Bureau and National Archives.