Few people in Colorado Springs who aren’t getting paychecks during the federal shutdown have tapped an assistance program for their families.

Public school students whose families have been affected by a federal furlough or temporary layoff can qualify to eat meals for free or at reduced prices.

Federal workers can use current income information to sign up for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s child nutrition programs, which include the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program and the Special Milk Program.

So far, only one family in Colorado Springs School District 11 has applied, and a few parents have called with questions, said Kent Wehri, director of Food Nutrition Services for D-11, the Pikes Peak region’s largest school district with about 27,000 students.

School District 49 in Peyton, the region’s third-largest district with about 21,500 students, has had no shutdown-related increase in free and reduced-meal service applications, said spokesman David Nancarrow.

Wildfire preparedness in Colorado hurt by government shutdown

Once the shutdown ends and paychecks for the nation’s 800,000 affected federal workers resume, families can end the meal benefits.

Colorado has about 53,200 federal workers, about 15,000 of whom are affected by the partial shutdown.

During the shutdown, nonessential workers are not allowed to work and are not being paid. Essential workers are to report to their jobs without pay until the shutdown ends.

Colorado’s 178 school districts and related education providers, such as charter schools and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services, receive more than $716.5 million in federal funds each year, covering everything from the school meals programs to support for at-risk and special-education students. That’s less than 6 percent of the total revenue that state school districts receive.

The U.S. Department of Education’s budget was finalized in September, so the shutdown won’t affect funding for this fiscal year, said Jeremy Meyer, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Education.

The USDA’s nutrition service programs to schools are expected to continue as usual, according to the agency.

But what would happen if the situation extends for months is unknown, said Patricia Reitwiesner, grants director for D-11.

“My gut is, we’re OK on those programs, such as special ed and Title 1,” she said, “but we are in limbo.”

She’s also not received word on the status of federal grants that the district has obtained through the U.S. Department of Education.

“There’s nothing indicating we’ll have any issues with draw-downs or request for reimbursement,” Reitwiesner said. “I’m thinking they would have said something by now.”

Contact the writer: 719-476-1656.