Page 9 - Flathead Beacon // 5.27.2015

FLATHEADBEACON.COM NEWS MAY 27, 2015 | 9 First Assignment of the School Day,
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Eating Breakfast in the Classroom
Hedges Elementary leading the way as more schools provide free, nutritious meals to students
By DILLON TABISH of the Beacon
The school day started like any oth- er at Cornelius Hedges Elementary last week with students saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
Once they finished, instead of open- ing their books and diving into the day’s lesson, the first-graders lined up for breakfast.
The morning meal featured milk, or- anges, string cheese and a breakfast bar made of local oats, flour and wheat with a few chocolate chips tossed in as a tasty complement.
Over the next 15 minutes, the young boys and girls sat at their desks snacking away while working on math problems.
For those accustomed to the tradi- tional classroom setting, it may have seemed out of the ordinary. But the scene in Kalispell was an increasingly familiar one as schools across the U.S. adopt stu- dents’ health as a priority alongside edu- cation.
Last week Gov. Steve Bullock visited one of Montana’s pioneering programs at Hedges Elementary and spent the morning having breakfast with the stu- dents.
“It was great to see that today – 38 kids getting their breakfast and then starting their work,” he said afterward. “This school district is truly leading the way.”
An increasing number of schools in Montana are implementing the Break- fast in the Classroom program as efforts to expand free school meals gains steam. Bullock and his wife, Lisa, have helped gather private fundraising alongside the Montana No Kid Hungry Campaign, which has gained the added support of Hollywood actor Jeff Bridges.
Nearly one in four children in Mon- tanastruggleswithhunger,accordingto the state Department of Public Health and Human Services.
“This is the most solvable issue any of us face — feeding our hungry kids — and Montana is leading the way,” Bull- ock said.
In April, Bullock’s office announced that $50,600 in privately funded grants were being awarded to 16 schools across Montana to assist in starting or expand- ing breakfast programs, directly ben- efiting an estimated 7,000 students. The schools included Hedges ($5,000), El- rod Elementary ($2,129), Lakeside El- ementary ($4,998), Columbia Falls High School($1,000),BrowningMiddleSchool ($3,924), Browning High School ($5,000) and Troy Junior-Senior High ($5,000).
ABOVE: Gov. Steve Bullock tours Hedges Elementary in Kalispell to learn about the breakfast program.
RIGHT: Students pick out string cheese, applesauce and oatmeal chocolate chip breakfast bars at Hedges Elementary.
GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
A few weeks after Bullock’s an- nouncement, Bridges pitched in another $20,000 to the Montana No Kid Hungry Campaign, while Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit group, also contrib- uted $20,000.
“This will ensure that these kids know where their next meal will come from,” Bullock said.
Earlier this year, Hedges Elementa- ry School became the first in the valley to offer free breakfasts in the classroom. Lakeside Elementary has added a pro- gram, while other local schools are fol- lowing.
“It’s been a fabulous program be- cause everyone has collaborated and worked together to make it work,” Hedg- es Principal Natalie Miller said.
“The kids aren’t hungry and they’re really focused and ready to go. It’s been completely trouble free.”
Miller said her teachers have found the students who eat meals in the morn- ing have performed better in the class- room while having fewer disciplinary problems. They also seem healthier, she said.
“It’s made a huge difference,” she said.
Robin Eck, an Americorps student based in Kalispell for the Montana No Kid Hungry Campaign, successfully wrote grants for five schools to receive funding for free breakfast and lunch for
the entire student body. The school dis- trict is considering whether to imple- ment the program next fall, which could provide roughly 2,000 students with free meals.
Efforts to expand healthy meals in public schools are not without crit- ics who say it’s not the responsibility of teachers and administrators to use re- sources to feed children.
Kalispell consistently has a large population of students who qualify for free and reduced lunches.
“You can sit around the table and say that it’s the responsibility of the par- ents, and it is, but when it doesn’t hap- pen,whatarewegoingtodoaboutit?” Kalispell Schools Superintendent Mark Flatau said. “We can’t just say it’s not our job. We have to figure out a way to get them what they need for the sake of their learning.”
Recognizing the need for quality nu- trition during the summer break, the school district will once again be offering free, healthy meals to anyone under 19 years old. Breakfasts and lunches will be available beginning in June at Elrod and Russell elementary schools and Wood- land Park. The food items will be similar to those served during the school year, including local beef hamburgers, local produce and other made-from-scratch snacks.
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