CMS breakfast details fall to schools

Starting Monday,  we'll see how Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools'  new  "free breakfast for all"  program plays out.

Each school is crafting its own strategy for getting food into the hands of hundreds of students,  then getting them to quickly shift gears to learning.  At Elizabeth Traditional Elementary,  where the bus drop-off is nowhere near the cafeteria,  a breakfast kiosk will be in place so kids can grab their food and head to class,  said Amy Harkey,  assistant director of child nutrition.  Some schools will use variations on that  "grab-and-go"  approach,  while others will have children eat in the cafeteria.

The district acknowledges there will be challenges,  from the trash that's generated to the demand on teacher time,  especially now that there are fewer assistants to help with the youngest kids.  One teacher emailed to say he'd been told everyone had to report 15 minutes early to handle breakfast,  but the principal later rescinded that order.

The school board approved the plan in hopes that kids who start their day with a nutritious meal will be better learners.  In the past,  CMS provided free breakfast for students who qualified for income-based lunch aid.  The national No Kid Hungry campaign urges districts to provide breakfast for everyone to eliminate the stigma.  At this week's back-to-school briefing,  Harkey noted that some students go hungry because their families are in a hurry,  not because they can't afford food.

"Students do show up to school hungry,  and hungry students can't learn,"  she said.  "Breakfast is part of the educational day."

Research on the benefits of free school breakfasts is squishy,  in part because no district uses biscuits and bagels as its only strategy to improve education. But CMS leaders hope the new program will get almost 148,000 preK-12 students off to a good start.

CMS has enough students who qualify for federal lunch and breakfast subsidies that it can afford to provide breakfast to all students at no charge,  without dipping into local or state money.  The child nutrition budget is separate from the CMS operating budget,  which means money can't be pulled from teachers,  supplies and other operating costs to cover food  --  or vice versa.