Change has come to ensure kids start their school day with a healthy meal.
High-need schools throughout the state are serving up Breakfast After the Bell, a program designed to feed more students in the classroom. Many students struggle to get three meals a day at home, and, for others, breakfast is the only meal they can count on.
Research has shown that students with a full stomach perform better and have improved behavior in the classroom. But of the number of low-income students who qualify for free breakfast, only half actually receive the meal, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
A new state law will help education leaders boost the number of participating schools – where at least 70 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals – beginning next school year. Changing legislation this year called for more schools to be eligible for the state and federal subsidized program.
Park Orchard Elementary was the first Kent school to provide Breakfast After the Bell. The program has been effective, especially helpful to those students who are unable to make it to school early enough for breakfast, or, in some instances, have little time between when the bus arrives to school and when classes begin.
The school has transitioned to a more desired breakfast program. In the past, on average, about 120 students chose to have breakfast before they began class each day, according to Principal Patrick O’Connor, but now a daily average of 360 students is opting to eat in the classroom after the first bell. Park Orchard Elementary has 484 students.
O’Connor and his staff are doing even more for the school breakfast movement.
On Monday, associates from Amazon’s Kent fulfillment center and its community partners, including United Way of King County, surprised Park Orchard students with a celebration to kick off its enhanced breakfast program. Associates delivered bananas and engaged students in fun activities to emphasize the importance of eating a nutritious breakfast.
Through a partnership with Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign, Amazon is providing 100 school grants nationally to bring breakfast into the classroom. The support is expected to help deliver more than 3.1 million breakfasts to more than 29,000 students throughout the country, part of Amazon’s fight against hunger.
So far, Park Orchard Elementary is one of only two schools in the state to receive the grant. The school will use the money to purchase equipment such as grab-and-go carts, materials and promotional initiatives to help organize and efficiently deliver breakfast to students – all in a push to increase student participation in school breakfast.
“I knew this change was coming. I figured let’s do it sooner and get the support and be on the front end,” O’Connor said of getting the jump, pursuing the grant and supporting the breakfast effort. “(The program) … has been awesome.”
The state’s new law allows participation in Breakfast After the Bell to count as instructional time as long as the students are engaged in educational activities during their breakfast and the meal does not disrupt classroom instruction. The food served to students through the program must meet federal nutritional standards.
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Park Orchard Elementary Principal Patrick O’Connor talks to third-graders about the importance of starting the school day with a healthy breakfast. MARK KLAAS, Kent Reporter
