EVERGREEN – Evergreen Junior High School has a tradition of serving hot breakfast for students free of charge.
Every student has the opportunity to get free hot breakfast as part of a grant that the school qualifies for. However, some students were arriving at school late and missing their breakfast, leaving them starving.
Since some students were hungry, teachers noticed they were easily distracted and uninterested in doing school work. Principal Kim Anderson said that’s where the school got the idea of breakfast between the bells.
Students can visit a special cooler — bought by a grant– that holds simple snacks with cheese sticks, granola bars and milk at around 10 a.m. each school day.
The service is free and students just have to provide their name and they get their snack to take back to class. Around 70 students participate in breakfast between the bells a day.
Anderson told MTN News that the program is crucial for students.
“If their bellies are hungry they’re not going to learn. And so for us, it’s vital for us to make sure their bellies are not growling and they’re worried about food versus worrying about math, reading, science, social studies or any of those content areas,” Anderson said.
Reporting by Maren Siu for MTN News
