From the inside out
Schools focus on feeding mouths as well as minds
By Anne Marie Kyzer Staff Writer

First grader Kaliyah Fields carefully pulls open the spout on her carton of milk and pours it over her cereal. It crackles as the cereal puffs soak up the milk.

Kaliyah scoops up a spoonful and munches quietly, watching her classmates settle in around her. They don't waste any time getting started on their own bowls of oat circles.

It's breakfast time at Waynesboro Primary School, and the entire school is starting the school day eating breakfast in their classrooms.

Today they'll eat cereal; maybe tomorrow they'll have egg and cheese biscuits, bagels or French toast.

Breakfast in the classroom took hold schoolwide at WPS this year as part of the system's effort to make sure students start their day right. WPS principal Tommy Mitchell said he can already see a difference in student performance.

Nutrition director Donna Martin points to research that relates eating breakfast in the classroom to higher test scores and student achievement.

"Students are calmer, they're more orderly and they're more on task," Martin says, listing off the reasons she wanted to start the program in Burke County.

Burke County High School senior Kiarra Brown, above left, selects her lunch from a vending machine that offers salads, sandwiches and wraps. Above right, first-grader Kaliyah Fields eats breakfast in her classroom at Waynesboro Primary School.

Teacher Christy Palmer agrees. She says sharing the mealtime helps the students settle down from the morning rush and has decreased discipline problems in her classroom.

But Martin's not stopping at breakfast. She wants kids to get a bellyful of good eats whenever they dine at school.

She's worked with her nutrition staff to overhaul the menu and replace unhealthy choices with fresh fruits and vegetables, much of it locally grown, and a host of other nutritious options.

Long gone are the days of greasy French fries and chicken nuggets. Students only eat fried food once in six weeks.

Now students are feasting on whole wheat rolls and pizza crusts, 2 percent and low-fat milk and fat-free salad dressings.

Not many sugary-sweets make the line up either. Cake is only served every six weeks, and

Food for Thought • All children in Burke County schools eat free & the school system is reimbursed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture

• The schools use fruit from The Strawberry Patch and Byne Blueberry Farms, as well as other locally grown produce

• 4,242 students eat lunch in Burke County schools each day on average

• 2,446 students eat breakfast in Burke County each day on average

• 1,052 children are fed in their classrooms at WPS on average

• Breakfast is served at all of Burke County's schools,

either in the classroom or cafeteria

dessert usually only makes an appearance about once a week.

Martin realizes the kids don't always like wholesome change. She knows most would rather chow down on a basket of French fries than steamed cauliflower or broccoli casserole. But she says they need to learn how to eat right.

"Do the kids eat everything we serve?" she asked rhetorically. "No. But at least they're exposed to the foods and are offered healthy choices. They would never see some of these at home."

When the older students don't care for what is offered or don't want to stand in the lunch line, they have healthy options to turn to in newly introduced vending machines.

The machines dispense chicken fajita salads, chef's salads, ham and cheese roll-ups and even peanut butter and jelly for the vegetarians.

Martin said an additional 100 students started eating lunch after they installed the vending machines.

Senior Kiarra Brown says she often skipped lunch when they didn't have her favorites on the menu, but not anymore. She's heading to the vending machine for a ham and cheese wrap or a sandwich.

Brown's praise for the machines is music to Martin's ears.

"It makes me feel good to know the kids are getting two good meals a day with us," she says.