Texas Public Radio | By Camille Phillips

While the U.S. Department of Agriculture is cutting funding for the food assistance program SNAP on November 1, the Texas Department of Agriculture said Wednesday funding for school meals will continue.



In a statement, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said his department “has instituted safeguards to ensure that Texas school meals will keep being served and that meal reimbursements will continue to be paid to our school districts on schedule.”



It’s unclear what those safeguards are. Miller’s agency did not say if it would continue to receive federal funding for school meals during the shutdown.



USDA ordinarily distributes funding for free and reduced-price school meals through state agencies, and the federal agency has not announced a pause in funding for the program.



Miller used his statement announcing continued funding for school meals in Texas to blame Democratic Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for the government shutdown, mirroring the language posted on the USDA website blaming Senate Democrats for the pause on SNAP benefits.



Democratic governors and left-leaning think tanks contend that the Trump administration has an obligation to continue funding SNAP benefits during the shutdown, and the means to do so.



Meanwhile, school districts in San Antonio are encouraging families to apply for free and reduced-price meals if their household income has changed because of the shutdown.



Many schools provide free breakfast and lunch to all students regardless of income through a designation called community eligibility. Families can check with school administrators to see if their child’s school is included.



For schools that do not have community eligibility, Barry Perez with the Northside Independent School District said children will be provided with courtesy meals if needed during the shutdown.



Head Start



Many San Antonio school districts also partner with local organizations to provide Head Start and Early Head Start to their families. Federal head start funding is distributed through grants, and most grants in San Antonio and throughout Texas are not expiring yet.



Officials with the Family Service Association and Parent / Child Incorporated said their Head Start programs are funded through the end of January. Officials with the City of San Antonio said one of their Head Start grants ends February and the other continues through July.



“At this time, we do not expect a disruption in services,” Marivel Arauza with the city’s Department of Human Services said in an email.



Wynn Hoke with Family Service Association echoed that point.



“At present, we are able to continue providing these essential services without interruption,” Hoke said in an email. “We recognize that other Head Start organizations may have different contract timelines, which could affect their ability to operate. Family Service will continue to assess the situation and provide updates should any changes arise as a result of government decisions.”



Family Service Association operates 25 centers serving nearly 900 kids in Northside, North East, and Judson ISD. The City of San Antonio administers 29 Head Start locations within Edgewood and San Antonio ISD.



Sharon Small with Parent/Child Incorporated said their 23 Bexar County Head Start programs are also funded through January. However, Small said she is concerned about the potential loss of federal reimbursements for the Child and Adult Care Food Program, which provides funding for meals and snacks for children and adults enrolled in day care and child care programs.



“We operate two central kitchens that prepare and deliver meals not only for our own centers, but also for other Head Start programs and unaffiliated child care providers. Altogether, we serve about 3,000 children daily,” Small said. “If CACFP reimbursements are delayed, we would need to find other ways to sustain this vital program.”



The Region 20 Education Service Center, Avance, and Ascension De Paul also operate Head Start programs in the San Antonio area. They have not yet responded to TPR’s inquiry about the status of their funding.



According to the National Head Start Association, five or six programs in Texas are losing funding on November 1, including one in the San Antonio area. Nationwide, the association estimates the government shutdown will have affected Head Start funding for about 65,000 children across the country by Saturday.



According to an analysis by the First Five Years Fund, more than 71,000 children are enrolled in Head Start in Texas, and more than 1,900 will lose funding by November 1.



Kim Kofron with the Texas nonprofit Children at Risk pointed to that analysis when talking about the potential impact of Head Start programs losing funding.



Kofron said the loss of funding for those 1,900 Head Start seats mean those programs “will more than likely be closing (their) doors.”



“Those are single moms, working moms, that are going to lose their child care next week, and it's super scary for those families and communities and employers and the economy as a whole,” Kofron said.

Funding for Texas school meals and most San Antonio Head Start programs continues after Nov. 1