Children's group visits school to see federal free meal program in action

Summit Academy's program is considered a model for other schools.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Children's Hunger Alliance says there are 241,000 children in Ohio's schools who aren't getting the free breakfasts to which they are entitled.
The alliance, a Columbus-based advocacy group working to expand participation in the federally funded School Breakfast Program, wants to see that number disappear, said Charlie Kozlesky, senior vice president for community engagement.
Right now, the alliance is focusing on getting Ohio's 280 charter schools involved in the United States Department of Agriculture's free breakfast and lunch program, and most of those children come from city schools that had breakfast programs.
Alliance representatives came to Youngstown on Friday to see how the breakfast program is working at Summit Academy's Youngstown elementary school on North Schenley Avenue.
Good results
"Summit has just done wonders," Kozlesky said after viewing a "Breakfast in the Classroom" session in a first-grade room where a dozen children make a nutritious breakfast part of their daily routine.
Summit Academy, based in Akron, targets a pupil population of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Asperger's Disorder, an autistic-like neurobiological disorder.
Getting a good meal at the start of the day is important for them, said Robert W. Knabe, chief operating officer for Summit Academy Schools.
There are USDA breakfast programs now operating in 23 of Summit Academy's 27 schools in Ohio, and about two-thirds of all of Summit's 1,600 pupils are involved, said David Peters, Summit's culinary program director.
Schools fear cost
Some schools are reluctant to begin offering the program, fearing that it will cost them money, but that usually isn't the case, Kozlesky added.
Schools tend to at least break even, he said, and Summit is a prime example.
Peters said the federal reimbursement rate for the breakfast and lunch programs Summit operates in some of its schools is enough to provide free meals to all the pupils.
Kozlesky said the alliance serves as a liaison between schools and vendors and service providers to help get the programs started. The CHA also serves as a program advocate with school administrators, he said.
Ohio law now mandates that any public school with a 33 percent poverty level must participate in the breakfast program.
There is some talk of that number's being dropped to 20 percent and being applied to every school, not just public schools, Kozlesky said.
Many benefits
Providing breakfast in the schools has been shown to change a building's climate, he said, noting that absenteeism and discipline problems decline, children tend to be more cooperative and orderly, and there are fewer trips to see the school nurse. Plus, they are getting better nutrition, he said.
Breakfast, along with structured physical activity, is part of the daily learning environment at Summit, said Eric Ritz, director of Summit's Youngstown elementary school.
The school provides breakfast to 155 children each morning.
gwin@vindy.com