Paper Mill breakfast food cart. (PAPER MILL SCHOOL PHOTO)
WESTFIELD – Students at Paper Mill Elementary School can eat breakfast in the classroom with help from a Project Bread grant.
The school will now offer “Grab & Go” breakfast options for students who did not eat at home or who arrived too late to eat in the cafeteria.
During the Feb. 3 Westfield School Committee meeting, Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski said Project Bread awarded $2,000 to Paper Mill School in support of its Breakfast After the Bell (BATB) program.
Czaporowski said Paper Mill isn’t required to offer the program to its students, but Principal Melanie Chasse wanted to offer it anyway, and applied for the grant to help run the program. Schools with a certain percentage of low-income students are required to offer the program by state law. Abner Gibbs and Franklin Avenue elementary schools fall into that category in Westfield.
“I’m happy that we’re able to expand this opportunity to more students, and eventually we’d like to offer it to all of our students,” Czaporowski said.
Current barriers for schools not participating in Breakfast After the Bell is the limitation of a one-time offer breakfast program. Those students arriving late miss breakfast, and these are often the students who would benefit most. The program allows students another opportunity to have breakfast and allows them to bring breakfast items to the classroom so they are eating breakfast and not missing out on important beginning of the day work in the classroom.
Paper Mill has faced many of these barriers, which is why the school decided to begin a breakfast program — even in the absence of funding – because administration and teachers both believed in its benefits, according to Grants Manager Shannon Barry.
Paper Mill plans to use the grant to purchase the equipment and supplies necessary to keep the program running, such as a kiosk to display breakfast items and cleaning supplies.
Barry said there had been some concern expressed by teachers and custodians about the mess the “Grab & Go” program could potentially create in the classroom. The grant will help to purchase items such as a carpet cleaner to ensure that spills and messes are cleaned up thoroughly, along with trash barrels, general cleaning supplies, and thermal packs for milk.
“The goal is that Breakfast after the Bell is successful and the participation rates keep increasing. Positive feedback about the program and high participation rates will hopefully encourage other schools to participate in the future,” Barry said.
“We here at Westfield Public Schools are thrilled to be given a $2,000 grant from Project Bread. This grant will go far in helping us to purchase much needed equipment for our `Breakfast in the Classroom’ program at Paper Mill elementary,” said Food Services Director Rachel Kania. “This program has increased the number of students taking breakfast as well as helped to bring better socialization among peers while they enjoy breakfast together in their classrooms. We look forward to utilizing this gift from Project Bread and insuring every child has an opportunity to enjoy breakfast and be ready for the day ahead,”
