For many kids across Virginia, heading back to school also means going back to having a regular meal again. On average, one in ten Virginia households don’t have consistent access to food. Public schools play a critical role in filling that gap.
Before they even enter a classroom, students at Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary School in Richmond are greeted by dining services staff.
Students are funneled through a quick line as staff hand out yogurt, muffins and milk.
This new grab-and-go kiosk is part of a push to get more kids access to breakfast at school. Susan Roberson is Richmond Public School’s Director of Nutrition Services.
“The more students that have breakfast, will be better energized, be able to think as they’re in the classrooms," Roberson says. "For some students, it’s an incentive to get to school.”
To help bring attention to that effort, Virginia’s Governor Terry McAuliffe toured Oak Grove-Bellemeade Wednesday as kids sat down for their second day of class.
Sitting among students, he asked about their eating habits and extolled the virtues of a healthy meal.
"What’s your favorite food?" McAuliffe asked one second-grader. "Vegetables? Good for you!”
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In recent years, Virginia’s First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe has made feeding students a priority, helping school districts tap into federal funding so they can reach a great number of kids. That effort has been working. The Governor's office announced Wednesday that almost 5 million more breakfasts were served last school year than the prior year.
“When we started this about half the children that were eligible for breakfast at school were not receiving breakfast," said Dorothy McAuliffe. "We’ve now moved the needle to about 59-percent receiving breakfast. So we still have work to do, but we have a lot of great partnerships with our schools and superintendents.”
This year, nine schools in Richmond and another ten in southwest Virginia are piloting a new project funded by a USDA grant. They’ll be providing three meals a day, backpacks of food on the weekends, and free nutrition classes for students and families.
