Youngstown schools make breakfast a priority

The city schools are now providing more than 3,600 free breakfasts daily.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown City School District's efforts to make sure its pupils get a nutritious breakfast every school day has won recognition from The Children's Hunger Alliance.
Representatives of the statewide nonprofit agency were in the city Friday, joining school officials at 7 a.m. at P. Ross Berry Middle School as children at the school were having breakfast in the cafeteria.
Youngstown had a 9 percent increase in the number of children eating breakfast in the schools last year, the second-highest growth rate among Ohio's public school districts, said Julie Accetta, a Hunger Alliance spokeswoman.
Only the Cincinnati public schools showed larger growth, she said.
For Youngstown, the 9 percent represents 326 additional children being fed, bringing the city district's total to 3,647, Accetta said.
"The work done by our food service department in making sure that all children have the opportunity for breakfast every day makes an important difference in their readiness to learn," said M. Mike McNair, Youngstown's supervisor of community relations and public information.
"We understand that this social engagement is such an important part of being able to reach all students. Capturing hearts, in more than a few cases, includes ministering to their stomachs first," McNair said.
What hunger does
Research shows that kids who are hungry are more likely to be sick, face obesity and other long-term health problems, exhibit disruptive behavior, be tardy or absent and perform poorly on standardized tests, Accetta said.
Understanding the link between a healthy breakfast and classroom performance, Youngstown has taken significant steps to increase participation in their programs, offering breakfast to all students for free, she said.
More than 200 pupils at P. Ross Berry take part in the program each day.
Offering an early arrival option to children and requiring all pupils to enter the school through the cafeteria doors each morning have helped boost Berry's participation rate by 10 percent, Accetta said.
Children's Hunger Alliance is committed to breaking the cycle of childhood hunger through education, leadership, advocacy and service.
gwin@vindy.com