The Department of Education has special feeding programs available to qualified organizations, for school year 2000-2001, through the department's Special Nutrition Program.
Non-profit and tax-exempt groups can participate in the National School Breakfast Program, the National School Lunch Program, child and adult care feeding programs, and after school programs.
Contact the Office of Special Nutrition at 774-9373 for more information.

Public Works Commissioner Harold Thompson Jr. is hospitalized in Puerto Rico after having undergone brain surgery.
Government House spokesman James O'Bryan Jr. said Thursday Thompson fell ill in St. Croix in the middle of August and was hospitalized on St. Croix. He was transferred from Juan F. Luis Hospital to a hospital in Puerto Rico for further medical evaluation.
Since that time, O'Bryan said, Thompson has undergone surgery, and his condition is listed as serious.
While he is on medical leave, Assistant Public Works Commissioner Wayne Callwood is serving as acting commissioner.
In addition to his duties at Public Works, Thompson is also a member of the governing board of the Virgin Islands Port Authority.

Until the V.I. Police Department on St. Croix receives a shipment of new patrol cars some time in December, police union officials say the public can expect officers to respond to calls slowly and in a variety of vehicles.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Arthur Hector, president of the St. Croix Law Enforcement Supervisors Union, said the department is "working with a bare minimum of vehicles."
The department’s equipment woes are twofold: Problems with the chassis of Chevrolet Blazer patrol vehicles have sidelined most of the fleet and the fact that patrol vehicles cannot be driven once they have reached a set amount of miles, according to collective bargaining agreements.
To offset the out-of-commission patrol cars, vehicles from the department’s Highway Safety Division are being used as well as using vehicles from other government departments.
Naomi Joseph, president of the St. Croix Police Benevolent Association, said that residents shouldn’t be surprised to see officers driving a variety of vehicles.
"We’re driving black, green, pink and orange, all different color cars," she said.
Hector said driving unmarked cars of different departments can be dangerous for officers when they arrive to a call, especially at night.
"It’s a dangerous situation for us," he said. "You don’t know it’s the police."
So as not to alert criminals on the island, St. Croix Deputy Police Chief Novelle Francis on Thursday declined to say exactly how many vehicles were off the road. But he acknowledged that the department does have an "inadequate number of vehicles right now."
He did say vehicles from the Traffic, K-9 and Special Operations Divisions are being used as patrol cars.
"We do have vehicles," Francis said. "It’s not like the streets are unpatroled and are like the wild west."
He said representatives from General Motors were on St. Croix last week and inspected the Blazers, which did have cracked chassis. But until a report is completed there hasn’t been a decision on a plan of action.
A shipment of 15 new Chevrolet Impala patrol cars, packaged specifically for police use, is expected on island but not for 12 to 15 weeks, Francis said.
In the meantime, Joseph said residents can expect slow response times to their calls, but that they should "be patient with the police officers."
"We’re trying to do the best we can," Francis said. "The entire government is hurting."

On paper, St. Croix’s cruise ship season looks like a promising one, with November offering up 20 days of port calls alone. And on five of those days at least two ships will be calling on the Big Island.
Even before then, on Oct. 25, Frederiksted’s biweekly street party, Harbour Night, held when Carnival Cruise Line’s Victory stays in port until midnight, resumes after a summer hiatus.
All in all, the 2000-2001 cruise season, which gets rolling in November and runs through April, looks bright for St. Croix, with about a 22 percent increase in port calls — 142 compared to 116 last season, according to the West Indian Co. Ltd.
Hugh Dalton, Harbour Night promoter, is also planning a performance of "Cruzan Fruit," a cultural production, to be held in the old Bruegel rum factory in La Grange. The performance debuted last season in Fort Frederik with performances by Music in Motion and the Karamu Afi Dancers.
Once Dalton works out licensing and zoning issues with the V.I. government for the La Grange Arts and Crafts Market Place, he plans to go to the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association’s annual convention in Panama City on Oct. 3-6, to sell the production, with accompanying arts and crafts vendors, as a tour.
The goal, Dalton said, is to use "Cruzan Fruit" as a foundation for more activities and tours on St. Croix to attract more cruise ships. That lack of shore tours, and the revenue cruise lines collect from selling them on board ships, is something the lines have pointed to when asked why St. Croix doesn’t get more visits.
"The plan is to have a performance of 'Cruzan Fruit' in the La Grange Market late in the afternoon every time a ship comes in," Dalton said. "What I’m hoping it to be is a seed for economic development and a seed for attracting other ships. We’re making it a part of a tour.
"It gives St. Croix a product so ships can get revenue when they are here."
Dalton said that pending licensing and zoning issues, he hopes to have the La Grange venue, which can hold about 1,000 people, open by January.
Dalton said he plans to hold a "dry run" of "Cruzan Fruit" on Oct. 21.
"My feeling is that the local community should see it before the cruise lines so they can make recommendations," he said.

The Department of Planning and Natural Resources, along with the U.S. Department of Interior will hold an open meeting to educate Virgin Islanders about President Clinton's Coral Reef Initiative at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at the Legislature of the Virgin Islands St. John Office, Room 109, Cruz Bay, St. John.
The meeting will cover a variety of issues regarding coral reefs in the territory, including the mapping of submerged lands jurisdiction off the U.S. Virgin Islands, the state of coral reefs and associated natural resources off the Virgin Islands, and options for managing the protection and preservation of sensitive coral reef resources.
Representatives from the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Coastal Zone Management, and Department of Interior officials will be present.
The public is invited to attend. Comments, discussions, and questions are welcome.
Meetings are also scheduled for St. Thomas and St. Croix. For more information call 774- 3320.

Public Works Commissioner Harold Thompson Jr. is hospitalized in Puerto Rico after having undergone brain surgery.
Government House spokesman James O'Bryan Jr. said Thursday Thompson fell ill in St. Croix in the middle of August and was hospitalized on St. Croix. He was transferred from Juan F. Luis Hospital to a hospital in Puerto Rico for further medical evaluation.
Since that time, O'Bryan said, Thompson has undergone surgery, and his condition is listed as serious.
While he is on medical leave, Assistant Public Works Commissioner Wayne Callwood is serving as acting commissioner.
In addition to his duties at Public Works, Thompson is also a member of the governing board of the Virgin Islands Port Authority.

The Department of Planning and Natural Resources, along with the U.S. Department of Interior will hold an open meeting to educate Virgin Islanders about President Clinton's Coral Reef Initiative at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 19 at the Capital Building, Legislature conference room, Charlotte Amalie.
The meeting will cover a variety of issues regarding coral reefs in the territory, including the mapping of submerged lands jurisdiction off the U.S. Virgin Islands, the state of coral reefs and associated natural resources off the Virgin Islands, and options for managing the protection and preservation of sensitive coral reef resources.
Representatives from the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Coastal Zone Management, and Department of Interior officials will be present.
The public is invited to attend. Comments, discussions, and questions are welcome.
Meetings are also scheduled for St. Croix and St. John. For more information call 774-3320.

"Bargains in the Garden," a five-hour flea market will be held from 12 noon until 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 24 at Tillett Gardens.
Household goods, silver serving items, used furniture, clothing, plants and pillows are some of the second-hand treasures that will be for sale.
Islanders are invited to come early to buy or sell.
Spaces are available for rent. Call 775-1929 for more information.

The Senate Rules Committee peacefully approved four bills Thursday. But they sent another one just about every way a bill can go, until it finally came to a graceless landing right back where it started.
The bill on the bumpy ride was originally sponsored by Sens. Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg and Judy Gomez. It would amend the V.I. Code to require the Public Services Commission to conduct an investigation and formal hearing upon a rate increase request by a public utility. This didn't sit well with Donastorg, and he called it a "farce." It was a watered-down version, a compromise, of his original intent, he said.
Donastorg proposed an amendment of his own which was specific in condemning the practices of the V.I. Telephone Corp. and concluding that the PSC should conduct a "full rate investigation on Vitelco's phone rates within 30 days of the enactment date of this act, and every two years thereafter."
Other senators weren't buying it. Sens. Almando "Rocky" Liburd and Gregory Bennerson said they had no problem with the original bill and would vote for it, but not the amendment. Committee Chairwoman Violet Anne Golden said she would like to see the V.I. Water and Power Authority go through a rate investigation, noting that WAPA bills have gone up three times recently.
Donastorg pleaded with the committee to pass his amendment, but to no avail. He then said he wanted his name taken off the legislation, which required the legislative legal counsel's intervention.
The counsel said he could do so; the effect would be that the committee would then "own" the bill. The bill was defeated and held in committee where Golden said it would probably "linger." Donastorg warned that the matter would wind up in court.
In less dramatic action, the committee approved the other four bills:
– The Public Employees Voluntary Separation Incentive Act of 2000 sponsored by Sens. Liburd, David Jones and Donald "Ducks" Cole. It allows employees who are members of the GERS with at least 28, but fewer than 30 years of service to leave early and "buy" their remaining time through a system of advance credits by contributing 8 percent of their annuity over the remaining years.
– The Child Protection Act of 2000 to increase penalties for aggravated rape and removing a time limit in which a criminal action for aggravated rape must be commenced.
– To establish a V.I. Military Museum and Veterans Memorial Complex on St. Croix. Golden amended this bill to include the name of Egbert Thomas to be recognized for his efforts in creating the legislation.
– To establish a public book lending library on St. Thomas in the Tutu area. Bill sponsor Sen. Judy Gomez added a funding amendment to the bill requesting funds from the Ford and Kellogg Foundations.
All bills were approved unanimously. They will now go to the full Senate for a final vote.

With a gallery filled with family, friends and colleagues, Territorial Court Judge Ishmael Meyers was approved for a fourth term Thursday by the Senate Rules Committee.
Though she couldn't be present, Presiding Territorial Court Judge Maria Cabret sent a letter of commendation which committee Chairwoman Violet Anne Golden read into the record.
This was just the beginning of many accolades the judge was to receive, as lawmakers warmly recalled, in many cases, their long associations with the judge. After 18 years on the bench, Meyers took it all in stride.
Meyers said one of his chief concerns is the establishment of a magistrate system. He said, "It is absolutely necessary that a magistrate system be implemented and funded immediately." Meyers explained magistrates can handle matters including misdemeanor trials, arraignments, advice of rights and pretrial conferences, which would give judges time to concentrate on more complex cases.
Sen. Roosevelt David said a magistrate bill was "somewhere around." Meyers said all nine judges would happily endorse such a bill.
He said the Court Clerks office and the Marshal Division are "woefully understaffed," and because of the fiscal crisis the judges are all working with one instead of two law clerks.
The senators pledged help in the upcoming budget hearings.
Fending off questions about judicial procedure, Meyers recounted some of his court experiences. He said some of his more emotional moments occur in Family Court. "It's emotionally draining," he said, "but it can be very rewarding."
Meyers said he enjoys making fathers hug their sons in court. "I like to hear a father say 'I'm well-pleased with my son'," he said.
Asked what he would do when he retires, Meyers looked slightly askance. "I love judging, I love it," he said. Should that ever come to pass, Meyers said, "I would ask the presiding judge to be a senior sitting judge."
Meyers' unanimous nomination will now go to the full Senate, where several senators said they looked forward to seeing him.