Free breakfast and lunch is being offered this year to all students, grades pre-K through third, in an effort to help ensure children are receiving the proper nutrition throughout the school day.
Thus far the number of meals served at Early Childhood, Kindergarten Center, Eugene Field, Lake Road, Oak Grove and O'Neal has increased by over 100 students per day, Chartwells School Dining Services reported during the school board meeting on Thursday, Sept. 21.
"One of our goals here is to increase participation in our school cafeteria lines," said Rod Priest, R-I assistant superintendent of business. "We do have a lot of kids that bring their lunch to school, which is fine, but we also want to encourage kids to enjoy a nutritional, well-balanced meal at no charge if they don't have the resources at home."
Over the summer the district elected to take advantage of the Community Eligibility Program, which the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education rolled out in recent years to high poverty districts. Schools can be grouped together and a multiplier is used to estimate how many qualify for the free and reduced lunch program beyond those already identified
for purposes of collecting federal reimbursement.
This streamlines the paperwork for families and removes any possible stigma associated with receiving assistance. Removing the fourth grade from the elementary configuration increased the identified student population (ISP) since children in need tend to be more prevalent at the lower grade levels, according to officials.
"We're dealing with young families just getting started in their careers with entry level jobs," Priest explained. "Fortunately, by the time the kid gets in upper grades, the free and reduced number declines, which we attribute to families getting more established in their jobs and the community."
Efforts are also being made at the Middle School, Junior High and the High School to improve menu choices for students at a cost of $1.55 for breakfast and $2.25 for lunch, or 30 and 40 cents respectively under the National School Lunch Program. Chartwells leads a program called Chef2School during which the executive chef visits 75 classrooms per month showing students how to prepare healthy foods.
At Junior High, breakfast participation increased by about 100 meals since last week due to a new 'grab and go' offering after first period. The popular second chance breakfast was made available at Senior High beginning last school year. At the Middle School, a cart was placed in the lobby area of the gymnasium containing hot and cold items for bus riders.
The High School incorporated a made-to-order omelet option during 2016/17, and Middle School and Junior High will soon have fruit smoothie stations made by V8. Chartwells recently submitted a waiver under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act so whole grains in biscuits, noodles, tortillas and pizza crust are no longer required since the product seemed to be causing participation to decrease company-wide.
"It's a good thing for parents if they would take advantage of [Chartwells] and not send kids with a bagged lunch, because we offer them all five of the food groups. Each meal includes a meat, grain, fruit, vegetable and dairy," said Dixie Hardin, food services director.
Above:
Chartwells Food Services Director Dixie Hardin is awarded by (left) Regional Vice President James Paladenic and District Manager Daniel Wolff the 2017 Compass in the Community award out of 65 districts for her leadership in efforts such as Mule Packs, the annual Community Thanksgiving and hosting a Christmas dinner for area children in foster care.
Below: Amanda House cooks a made-to-order omelet for a student last week during breakfast service at PBHS.
