With the current school year winding down, the Wolf Administration is looking towards the next school year in providing a basic necessity for many, a school breakfast.
The administration has announced an initial round of funding for new or expanded school breakfast programs.
The Governor’s wife, First Lady Frances Wolf, says 200 schools will share in the first $900,000 awarded by the Department of Education. The Butler Area School District’s McQuistion Elementary will receive over $1,300. The South Butler School District has been awarded over $18,000 to be split between the Primary, Intermediate, Middle and High Schools.
“Children who are hungry are less likely to learn as much or as fast as other students because a lack of healthy food can impair a child’s ability to perform well in school,” Pennsylvania First Lady Frances Wolf said Wednesday. “Food is a basic school supply- just like textbooks and paper and pencils. When children struggle with hunger, it’s just plain hard for them to learn.”
Wolf pointed out that one in five Pennsylvania children has to deal with regularly not having enough to eat. She says only half of students in Pennsylvania who are eligible for free or reduced price lunch also receive breakfast.
