Mornings start early for kids at Daisy Bates Elementary school, but not as early as they once did. Before Principal Matt Mellor and Child Nutrition Director Regena English initiated Breakfast in the Classroom ―with assistance from Share Our Strength grant dollars and technical assistance from the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance’s Arkansas No Kid Hungry campaign ― kids had to get to school early to eat breakfast. Now, kids eat breakfast in their first period class and, as Principal Mellor told Governor Asa Hutchinson on a recent breakfast walk-through, “it has made quite a difference in the entire school environment. Attendance has improved, test scores are up and discipline problems are down.”

As Governor Hutchinson went from classroom to classroom, he saw children eating breakfast quietly with their classmates while the teacher delivered morning remarks. “It’s like this every morning,” said Principal Mellor. “Their whole day goes better when they get a good breakfast.” When the Governor asked the students what they like best about school breakfast in the classroom, one boy said, “It’s better than what I get at home.” Another reminded the Governor that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” The Governor had heard about Breakfast After the Bell programs but hadn’t seen one in action. He was impressed. “This is an important program for our children,” said the Governor.

Governor Hutchinson has recently introduced his administration’s Healthy Active Arkansas 10-Year Plan to reduce obesity and improve the overall health of Arkansans, especially children. The Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, lead partner for the Arkansas No Kid Hungry campaign, is gratified to see that so many No Kid Hungry programs have been embraced in the plan. The 10-year plan encourages schools to provide alternate breakfast delivery service―like Breakfast in the Classroom, Grab & Go or Second Chance Breakfast― and calls for legislation requiring evidence-based nutrition education programs like Cooking Matters, Cooking Matters at the Store and SNAP-Ed as part of Nutritional Standards in Schools for early child care through college.  This commitment to proven strategies that are already improving the health and scholastic achievement of Arkansas kids means all of our children, like those at Daisy Bates Elementary School and the more than 450 other schools across Arkansas that have adopted Breakfast After the Bell programs, will have a brighter future.

Healthy Active Arkansas is a vision that can be a reality. The Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance― through its Arkansas No Kid Hungry campaign― is proud to a partner in the vision. Thank you, Governor Hutchinson, for putting forth a framework of evidence-based strategies that communities and partners around the state will use to improve the health and preparedness of our children.  No Arkansas child should ever start the day hungry. Perhaps now they won’t.