Charleston Gazette-Mail – “Every child needs nutritious meals in order to achieve their potential.” Read op-ed.
This was the simply stated need behind Senate Bill 663, the Feed to Achieve Act, which the West Virginia Legislature passed in 2013.
The bill focused on ensuring that all students have access to meals during and outside the school day. The West Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Child Nutrition has administered the policy in three main parts: Feeding children during the school day; shared-table initiatives (a newer addition); and feeding children outside the school day.
Out-of-school feeding includes things like the National School Lunch Program Afterschool Snack service, Child and Adult Care Food Program Afterschool Meals, Backpack programs and other nontraditional feeding opportunities.
There have been some extremely positive outcomes from the Feed to Achieve Act: West Virginia is leading the nation for the sixth year in a row in the ratio of low-income students who have access to free or reduced-price breakfasts. We were the first state to require all schools to adopt alternative delivery systems (i.e. breakfast in the classroom), to ensure all students get adequate opportunities to eat breakfast each morning.
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