Apollo-Ridge improves access to school breakfast, far more kids participate

In the past year, Apollo-Ridge High School has more than doubled the number of needy students taking advantage of school breakfast options, thanks to a new program.

Apollo-Ridge implemented an alternative breakfast program, Second Chance, as a way to help students take advantage of the school’s breakfast options.

While the school day begins at 7:40 a.m., Principal Dan Consuegra said many students don’t arrive until 7:35. Second Chance gives them the opportunity to check in with teachers and go through attendance before heading to the cafeteria for a solid 20 minutes of breakfast time.

At Apollo-Ridge, roughly 40% of students are enrolled in the school’s free and reduced lunch program. Consuegra said incorporating Second Chance breakfast was an added measure to make sure those students receive at least two meals a day.

Kelli O’Rourke, director of food services for Apollo-Ridge School District, said that before Second Chance, only about 13% of students on free and reduced lunch were taking advantage of breakfast.

That number has risen to 35%.

“What some people don’t realize is some of these students don’t eat from the time they leave school to the very next day at breakfast,” O’Rourke said. “So if breakfast is not available, then they’re not eating until lunch.”

Participation among students who pay full price has also increased, O’Rourke said, reducing a “social stigma” surrounding school breakfasts.

Award-winning effort

The program has been such a success that in celebration of National School Breakfast Week, Consuegra was recognized by the national nonprofit, No Kid Hungry. Consuegra was named a 2020 Pennsylvania School Breakfast Hero as part of the group’s anti-hunger campaign.

O’Rourke nominated Consuegra for the honor, for his support in implementing the program at the beginning of the current school year.

“He’s helped to rearrange the schedule to make it work,” O’Rourke said, “and he’s just been very open to the idea of implementing this alternative breakfast model.”

Implementing Second Chance required moving an existing study hall period to the beginning of the day. O’Rourke said teachers have been supportive and open to the program, giving students hall passes and dismissing them to the cafeteria when needed.

The benefits of Second Chance go beyond breakfast, Consuegra said. The approximately 20 minutes of free time in the morning gives students the opportunity to socialize, meet with teachers and catch up on assignments.

Consuegra said that since implementing the program, the school has experienced improved academic performance, fewer student write-ups and an overall improvement in culture.

“It’s good in the way that it gives nonclass time,” Consuegra said. “Kids need to be unfocused at some point throughout the day.”

Nationwide, more than 11 million children live in “food insecure” homes, according to No Kid Hungry — equating to about one in six children. And according to 2017 data from Feeding America, there are almost 38,000 people in Westmoreland County struggling with food insecurity — a rate of about 10%.

In its simplest form, Second Chance addresses the issue while improving the educational outlook of students, Consuegra said.

“You can’t learn if you’re hungry,” he said.