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AVERY COUNTY â An innovative partnership between Elon Muskâs satellite internet service Starlink and the state of North Carolina is bringing satellite internet service to two rural NC counties through a program that could likely have impacts in Avery, Ashe and Watauga counties in the not too distant future.
The program, known as the Satellite Internet Technologies for Student Connectivity Pilot, will provide students in the Swain County and Hyde County school systems access to Space Exploration Technologies Corporationâs, (SpaceX) Starlink internet service.
Funding for the program was made available through the CARES Act and implementation of the technology will be made possible through the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NCDIT) and the Friday Institute at NC State University, among other state organizations.
Schools keep kids fed during pandemic
North Carolina is regularly ranked as one of the 10 hungriest states in the nation. According to Feeding America data from 2018, North Carolina had a child food insecurity rate of 19.3 percent, with Haywood County at a rate of 21 percent. During the pandemic, Feeding America found that a majority of food banks report seeing a record increase in the number of people needing help, with an average increase of 60 percent across the country.
Many children in the United States depend heavily on school meals for regular sustenance. The USDA and local school nutrition programs have been working to ensure that doesn’t change during the pandemic.