Va. to expand school breakfast program by $2M

An additional $2 million will be added to expand school breakfast programs in Virginia this school year, your4state.com reports.

According to Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, close to 5 million more school breakfasts were served to the state’s students during the 2015-16 school year than in the prior year. The increased funding is aimed at enabling schools to implement new breakfast models that allow for breakfast to be eaten in the classroom, after the start of the school day.

Jennifer White, nutrition services supervisor for Frederick County Public Schools, told your4state.com that the breakfast programs offered to students vary by school.

"We have a hot breakfast program where the students get a hot reimbursable meal, and we offer grab-and-go breakfast at some of our schools where the student can get a bag with the breakfast already prepared in it," she said.  

The state has also launched the Virginia Breakfast Challenge, part of an initiative by the No Kid Hungry Virginia campaign and other partners. Schools that achieve the greatest increases in breakfast participation will be eligible for prizes to support school nutrition programs and improvements to infrastructure.

Read the full story via your4state.com.