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Tuesday, December 11, 2012

“The Most Important Meal of the Day”

Hunger is thought to be a third-world problem, but the reality that 1 in 5 American children struggles with hunger qualifies it as an all-too-real problem here in the United States as well. At Patterson High School we see it every day. Roughly 80% of Patterson High School students receive free or reduced lunch, and many students are very hungry throughout the school day.
Breakfast
Patterson started taking on the hunger issue the way we should start every day–with breakfast. Even students whose families are not struggling to provide food arrive to school without having eaten. Studies show that students who eat breakfast at school perform and behave better than students who skip breakfast at home. Moreover, breakfast-eating students are less likely to be overweight, more likely to be present and on time, and it improves the learning environment. With all of these facts out on the table it was obvious to us that Patterson High School would be serving breakfast this year. Thanks to Share Our Strength, the First Class Breakfast program was initiated at Patterson.

Every morning Patterson students engage in 500 Conversations, a homeroom-style period where students discuss a daily topic in efforts to make them not only scholars, but well-rounded adults as well. The cafeteria staff, HealthCorps coordinator, and Lifeskills program work together to deliver the First Class Breakfast program’s nutritious meals to each and every Patterson student, free, during the 500 Conversations period. At first students were hesitant to accept the milk & cereal or bagel & cream cheese with juice. They are now very eager to share the meal together. Students who previously ate nothing all day long now eagerly await the arrival of their in-class breakfast. The program has given students further incentive to attend the 500 Conversations period. Teachers believe that the program has improved performance, alertness, and participation in class. With hunger out of the way, students can now concentrate on their studies. Patterson High School is devoted to go beyond teaching ABCs and 123s, to empower Baltimore’s teenagers to be healthy adults who move on to positive futures. The First Class Breakfast Program, along with Patterson’s new lunchroom salad bar, is setting the tone for a newly healthy school environment that leaves no kid hungry, and all kids successful.

6 comments:

  1. so the food stamps program, welfare, wic, energy assistance. cna't these kids parents give these kids a bowl of cereal. thank the lord they have a salad bar. this country is done

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  2. That's a geat program with great results.However,in the meantime if mom and dad would slow down on the baby making things would really get better.

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  3. If they stop spending money on drugs , then they would have enough for food.

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  4. Great program! Most days these are the only meals or food these kid have for the entire day and night. Think what you want about entitlements but this one works. The food goes directly to the kid, not to the parent. Kudos.

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  5. The school lunch program started after WWII when it was discovered that many of our drafted troops were suffering from malnutrition when they entered the army.

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  6. I would be all for this if I knew that their food stamps were decreased because of this. We would at least know that the kids are eating. Now the kids are eating breakfast and lunch at school and mom is at the seafood market using the food stamps for her lunch.

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