Muscogee County in western Georgia is stopping a free school breakfast program, citing spiraling food costs. The Muscogee County School District started the “Breakfast for All” pilot program last summer.
The program offered a free hot breakfast to the nearly 20,000 students of the district's 34 elementary schools. Just under 10,000 of the students at those schools took part in the program.
Jimmie Barnett directs the school district's nutrition program. She estimates that rising food prices will double the cost-per-plate to $2 dollars:
“Unfortunately, with the rising cost of food, we are going to have to end the program because the revenue we projected will no longer cover the cost of the program.”Barnett says an existing meal program will still provide free and reduced-cost meals, depending on parents' means.
She says that children who have an at-school breakfast are more alert and get better grades.
