LOCKHART, Texas -- Lockhart ISD received an $8,000 grant to update its “grab-and-go” breakfast options available to all students, free of charge.
- More options coming to Lockhart ISD's "grab-and-go" breakfast
- Lockhart ISD qualified to provide free breakfast and lunch
- Removes financial barriers for many families
The grant was given to the district by the Food Research and Action Center Breakfast Expansion Effort via General Mills. It paid for new breakfast carts for Lockhart High School and new breakfast rolling coolers for the elementary schools.
“Giving students an opportunity to have something to fuel their body for that first portion of their school day. We look for alternative ways, thinking outside the box. What can we do in order to make sure our kids have every opportunity to fuel themselves for that day?" said director of Food and Nutrition Services James Acuna.
Each morning, elementary student leaders wheel Igloo Breakfast Coolers to class full of breakfast items from the cafeteria to the classroom to snack on to get their brains going. The students choose a chocolate or regular milk, a juice, a snack like apple slices, and an entree.
At the high school, students are able to get "grab-and-go" breakfast items from the new food cart before the bell. These carts are placed in strategic locations around the school to make breakfast more accessible to each student.
“Lockhart ISD is able to provide students an opportunity to eat before their class actually gets started. This is a piece of them being able to perform academically in school, not having to worry about 'how long am I going to have to go without?' We all know that nutrition is essential for a student to be able to be productive in their academics," Acuna said.
This school year, Lockhart ISD qualified to provide breakfast and lunch for free under the federally-funded “Community Eligibility Provision Program.”
"As the district has grown, we've been able to grow with it, and our identified student population hit that percentage where we're eligible to provide those services for all our students," Acuna said.
Acuna said being able to offer these free options to students has removed the barriers many families may face when it comes to paying for food.
"Students don't have that worry, families don't have that worry. And so that is huge in our community. So a family doesn't have to worry about setting money aside for their students' lunch. And if a student, for some reason, has a negative balance, they don't have to worry about that anymore. All that has dismissed with this program that we're on this year," Acuna said.