LAURENS, S.C. — Cafeterias across Laurens County School District 55 are celebrating National School Lunch Week through Friday, Oct. 16, putting a spotlight on a program that puts about 3,800 lunches in front of students in the district each day.
Every student in the district eats lunch at no charge. Wanda Knight, the district director of Student Nutrition Services, said the week gives her staff a chance to show parents and students what the program offers. She pointed to trays built around produce, whole grains and milk, prepared within federal caps on calories, fat and sodium.
The 2026 campaign, created by the nonprofit School Nutrition Association, uses a Cafeteria Circus theme, and the district has adopted it for the week.
The observance falls in a milestone year. The federal lunch program traces back to the National School Lunch Act, which President Harry Truman signed in 1946, and advocates are marking 80 years of the program this fall. It offers balanced meals at low or no cost in public schools and private nonprofit schools, along with group homes that care for children.
Nationwide, close to 30 million children take part in school lunch on a typical day. In South Carolina, anti-hunger advocates are also using the week to recognize the school nutrition workers who keep the program running, from writing menus and cooking meals to setting up dining rooms where students can eat, learn and connect.
