Governor Cooper directs $1.4 million to expand school breakfast programs

RALEIGH, N.C. (WITN) - North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced Tuesday that he is directing $1.4 million in funding into programs that are aimed at innovating school breakfast models for more participation.

Cooper said he is partnering with The North Carolina Alliance for Health, or NCAH, and the Carolina Hunger Initiative to expand and innovate programs that provide school breakfasts.

Cooper made the announcement at the Glenn Elementary School in Durham where he stepped in to serve students breakfast in their classrooms and spoke to teachers and staff about the program.

“A child who is hungry can’t learn, and many children can’t or won’t eat when they have to get up so early,” said Governor Cooper. “Innovative efforts that get breakfast to children in the classroom are proven to encourage them to eat which will improve their educational success.”

According to the governor’s office, both of the partner foundations will provide grants of up to $50,000 per school nutrition program to assist in implementing various innovative school breakfast models, such as Breakfast in the Classroom, Second Chance Breakfast, and Grab and Go Breakfast.

The Governor’s office says these innovative school breakfast models have proven to increase school breakfast participation, especially among students who qualify for free- or reduced-price lunch. The more than 600 schools that are offering free school breakfast and lunch to all students for the first time during the 2023-24 school year through the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program will be given priority for the grants.

For the latest information on this grant program, please visit CarolinaHungerInitiative.org.