Food Bank Presents School Breakfast Excellence Awards

To encourage schools to make the changes necessary to increase the number of students eating breakfast at school, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, Kids First and the Rhode Island Department of Education developed the School Breakfast Excellence Awards. The awards, which were made possible thanks to sponsorship support from United Natural Foods and other local businesses, are presented to schools that achieve 50 percent participation in School Breakfast, one-half of the total enrollment, for at least one month. The award, which is a check for $1,000, will be used by the school’s principal to benefit the students.

In order to be eligible, a school must be a Rhode Island public school located in a high-need community in which at least 40 percent of the lunches are served to free and reduced-price eligible children. For young, school-aged children, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A good meal to start the day gives students the energy they need to succeed in class.

The Importance of Breakfast

Studies show that children who eat a healthy breakfast learn better, behave better and perform better than children who do not eat breakfast. “Too many children go to school hungry, and the result is that they are not ready to learn,” says Andrew Schiff, Chief Executive Officer of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. “When you’re hungry, it is more difficult to focus your attention on the curriculum, to absorb what is being taught,” continued Schiff.

“I commend these schools for taking the necessary steps to ensure that more students begin their day with a healthy meal. If we can get schools in low-income communities to increase participation to 50 percent of their students, we will have a great impact on the lives of tens of thousands of children,” finished Schiff.

Hunger in our Communities

Currently, the Food Bank feeds more than 50,000 Rhode Islanders each month through a network of 300 member agency programs across the state. This represents an increase of 30% over last year. Each day, approximately 20,000 Rhode Island children receive free or reduced-price School Breakfast, with the state ranking 37th in the country in School Breakfast participation. Additionally, one out of six Rhode Island children are at-risk of hunger.

Award-Winning Schools

Central Falls

Ella Risk Elementary School
M.I. Robertson Elementary School
Veterans Memorial School

Newport

Dr. Michael H. Sullivan School

Providence

Carl G. Lauro School
Flynn Elementary School
George J. West Elementary School
Lillian Feinstein School
Mary Fogarty School
Reservoir Avenue Elementary School
Windmill Elementary

West Warwick

John Horgan Elementary School
Maisie Quinn Elementary School

Woonsocket

Aram J. Pothier Elementary School
Bernon Heights Elementary School
Citizens Memorial School
Fifth Avenue Elementary School
Harris Elementary School
Kevin A. Coleman Elementary School