NORTHWOOD, Ohio — It's the most important meal of the day, and it's now being served to Northwood Local Schools students for free thanks to a new program.
"We have French toast, we have waffles, we always have fresh fruit, apples and bananas, we have our Pop-Tarts, we always have a yogurt," said Emilia Bires, Northwood Schools director of operations.
These are just a few of the now free and available food options students at Northwood are able to choose from for their everyday breakfast.
It's a newly introduced program that district superintendent Jason Kozina said they're using their federal dollars to pay for.
"When students are qualified for free and reduced lunch, there's a federal dollar amount that comes back to the school for those," Kozina said. "And then when you do other programs, such as snack programs after school and summer lunch programs, those all have federal dollars that come in and are tied to it."
Bires said this program was needed for Northwood's students after seeing the impact that food insecurity can have.
"We always see kids come through the line and you can tell the ones that have not ate the night before, or are struggling," Bires said.
It's an issue Kozina said is only increasing.
"We're seeing some growth in students that qualify for free and reduced lunch, and seeing that that is a continuous need for our community, we've tried to put the things in place that we can to support," Kozina said.
This support is what president and CEO of Connecting Kids to Meals, Wendi Huntley, said will help the organization bridge the gap by combating child hunger, as Connecting Kids to Meals only provides food outside of school hours.
"Whether it's families that are just rushing in the morning and don't get an adequate breakfast for their kids, or whether it's families that can't afford a breakfast for the kids, that breakfast meal is the best meal that enables the kids to be able to focus and to learn" Huntley said, "and to be able to not be stressed about being hungry."
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