School breakfast program is a community affair

Educators know that a growling stomach caused by hunger is not conducive to learning and children who come to school without breakfast aren't ready to be taught. That's why, for almost 10 years, officials at Fletcher Walker Elementary School and others from the community spearheaded a breakfast program in Westwood, a rural northern California town of 2000 inhabitants.

Although the meal is served in the cafeteria at the elementary school, it is truly a community affair. The school, businesses, churches and individual citizens all contribute to the effort, which is funded by contributions of time and money.

All welcome: The Breakfast for Kids program greatly benefits children from impoverished homes, but all students are welcome. "There is no criteria for participation; kids only have to live in Westwood. We average between 40 and 65 breakfasts each morning," says Michael Bergin, the head teacher at Westwood Community Day School and director of the Breakfast for Kids program. In fact, the program is being promoted in the health classes at the nearby high school because only about 30% of high school students eat breakfast.

The program runs well for several reasons. All the volunteers, from those who serve the breakfast to those who run the program, are dedicated. Monetary and product contributions, in addition to time and energy, also help to make the program a success.

A newsletter is mailed once a year to solicit contributions and there are many who donate faithfully to the Breakfast for Kids program. Faithful contributors include Calvary Chapel Westwood, the Rotary Club, Cy Bassett and the Chimney Fund of Westwood. "We haven't had to have any fundraisers," says Bergin.

Sue Cox, the lunchroom manager at the elementary school cafeteria, offers use of her kitchen each morning and she frequently helps out in a pinch—for example, by providing a bag of apples if there is no fruit or brown sugar for the oatmeal when the supply is low. "She just asks that we replace it," says Bergin. She's also contributed in other ways such as cooking green eggs and ham to celebrate the birthday of storybook author Dr. Seuss.

Securing storage: The space Cox shares in her storeroom is invaluable. To save money, Bergin buys supplies such as plastic spoons, disposable cereal bowls and cold cereal in bulk. He often buys extra cases of these supplies if he can get a good deal but there isn't a lot of room for product storage. In addition to the school cafeteria, he stores goods at the Westwood Community Day School where he works and at Young's Market—which is also a cereal supplier to the Breakfast for Kids program.

The meals are selected with an eye to convenience, simplicity, low cost and nutrition. Monday morning, kids are served muffins and a carton of milk. Breakfast on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday consists of a selection of cold cereal and fresh fruit, and on Wednesday the fare is oatmeal with brown sugar.

The oatmeal is a government subsidy and the cold cereals are a generic brand to save money. The average cost per meal is about 30¢ and operation costs per school year are between $2,500 and $3,000. The program receives no other funds.

While program organizers must watch pennies, their goal is to get the kids to eat. Therefore, a selection of cold cereal is offered each morning that includes such healthy varieties as corn flakes, raisin bran, rice and oat cereal. Children can eat as much as they want but seconds on cereal are only allowed if they eat a piece of fruit first. "Some of the kids eat four or five bowls of cereal each morning," says Bergin. In the winter, the fruit is oranges, apples or bananas. To help prevent waste, it is cut into quarters with bananas cut in half.

Simple prep: "We choose foods that aren't expensive but also aren't real difficult to make. We don't serve something like eggs Benedict because of the prep and clean up time. We want to make it easy on the volunteers, too," says Bergin.

Volunteers are able to set up the breakfast in about half an hour on most days, open the doors at 7:30 a.m., and serve the meal within a half hour so kids aren't late for class. Cleanup is also swift because utensils are disposable. "We leave the cafeteria and kitchen as clean as it was when we showed up and we are out by 8:15 a.m.," says Bergin. In that way, the breakfast doesn't interfere with the school's lunch preparation.

The same group of volunteers has been serving the children for years. They include Carol Hanners, a third grade teacher, and Jan Cox, a reading specialist at the Fletcher Walker Elementary School, serving on Mondays; Laurie Alderman, district business mgr., and Pat Costa, a first grade teacher, serving on Tuesdays; Chuck Hanners, a retired teacher, and Aurora Quadrio, a retired librarian, serving on Wednesdays; Doris Woods and Judy Robinson serving on Thursdays; and Michael Bergin and his students from the Community Day School serving on Fridays.