Lexington Two students to receive free meals with USDA extension

LEXINGTON, S.C. (WIS) - Both full-time Virtual Academy and hybrid model Lexington Two students will receive free meals at school and by curbside pickup after the USDA extended its summer meals program amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The program is expected to be extended until Dec. 31.

For students participating in the hybrid model they will be able to receive free breakfast and lunch while at school on assigned in-person days.

They will be able to take meals home as they are dismisses at the end of the school day:

• For students who attend in-person classes on Monday/Thursday -- On Monday, students will receive breakfast and lunch for Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday, students will take home breakfast and lunch for Friday.
• For students who attend in-person classes on Tuesday/Friday -- On Tuesday, students will receive breakfast and lunch for Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday, students will take home breakfast and lunch for Monday.

In order for Virtual Academy students to receive their free meals, orders must be placed in advance on the PayPams website to help food services determine how many meals to prepare of each family.

Curbside pickup of pre-ordered meals will be offered only on Mondays and Thursdays from 11a.m. to noon at the following Lexington Two schools:

• Cayce Elementary
• Riverbank Elementary
• Pine Ridge Middle
• Airport High

You do not have to be a student at the school to pick up meals at that location. Monday’s curbside pickup will include breakfast and lunch for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  Thursday’s pickup will include breakfast and lunch for Thursday and Friday.

• Visit the PayPams website.
• Click sign up now.
• Select SC as the state and click submit.
• Double click on Lexington School District Two, then click continue and complete the requested information.
• Click create account and review the information. If it is correct click submit, if not click edit.
• Enter the first and last name of your student along with their date of birth, then click add.
• If you have more than one student to enter click add more. This process must be repeated for each student.

• Once families are registered, log in to your PayPams account.
• Click on meal ordering and then choose your location for meal pickup.
• Select the days you are ordering for and then click submit order. Make sure to look for a confirmation number after submitting your order.
• Repeat this process for additional students. Make sure to pick up your orders on the correct day and time you indicated.

There is a possibility that the USDA will not receive enough funding from Congress to cover free meals for the entire period through December 31. Therefore, we encourage our Lexington Two families to complete an online application to see whether they qualify for free or reduced price meals. 

Visit www.paypams.com/onlineapp and follow the instructions.  A new application is required each school year, and only one application per household is needed. 

Paper applications are available at each school’s front office or at the Lexington Two district office. Families with questions about 2020-21 meal service can call the Food Service Office at (803) 739-4010.

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