Governor Cooper announces effort to expand school breakfast programs

Governor Roy Cooper is directing federal funding toward expanding school breakfast programs. 

The governor announced on Tuesday that $1.4 million in grants will be used to help school districts and charter schools implement breakfast meal models. The effort will involve a partnership with The North Carolina Alliance for Health and the Carolina Hunger Initiative.

Cooper says that providing meals in the classroom is a proven path to improvements in educational success. He made the announcement from an elementary school in Durham, where he helped serve students breakfast and chatted with cafeteria workers.

Carolina Hunger Initiative director Lou Anne Crumpler released a statement calling school meals “instructional intervention,” noting benefits that include reducing chronic absenteeism and improving reading achievement.

The funds will be used to administer grants of up to $50,000 per school nutrition program. Technical assistance will also be provided focusing on how best to implement school breakfast programs.