Students at 21 Prince George’s County schools are eating complimentary breakfast in their classrooms — whether they qualify for free-and-reduced meals or not — thanks to a $670,000 grant program that kicks off Tuesday. School officials said Breakfast in the Classroom is ensuring that low-income students who qualify for free meals will actually take advantage of them: Just 43 percent of Prince George’s County Public Schools students who eat a free or reduced-price lunch are eating the free breakfast their school provides for them, according to a recent report.
More than half of P.G. students are eligible for free-and-reduced meals.
“There might have been students who arrived late, students who go straight to the classroom for whatever reason” instead of the cafeteria, said Karyn Lynch, chief of student services.
Officials were concerned that some students shirked the free breakfast to avoid the “low-income” label it came with.
“Now they’re watching the morning announcements at the same time they’re having their breakfast. It’s more efficient, it’s more timely, and it becomes part of an instructional process,” Lynch said.
Sponsored by the Walmart Foundation, the $3 million program is starting at just four other districts in the nation. The $670,000 chunk that Prince George’s received went to buying refrigerators, trash cans and supplies to keep pests out of the classrooms.
Lynch says the 20 elementary schools and one middle school are all Title One schools and were chosen for having a large number of students eligible for free breakfast who weren’t eating it, “but our goal is to increase participation across the board.”
Superintendent William Hite said the program puts a “fresh spin” on school breakfast.
It’s “a change that ensures every child starts the day with a healthy, well-balanced breakfast and is ready to learn,” Hite said.
