CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced $1.3 million in grants will be going to 42 public school districts and public charter schools in the state. It's in an effort to expand access to healthy school breakfast, and should impact more than 51,000 students.
“Our public schools not only provide safe places for children to learn, but also healthy meals for students who sometimes face food insecurity at home,” Cooper said. “These grants will help more public schools provide breakfast for children in the classroom so they can start their day ready to learn and be successful.”
The grants, known as the NC Innovative School Breakfast Grants, are funded through federal funds as directed by Cooper last October. It's part of an ongoing effort by Cooper to make 2024 the "Year of Public Schools," as Cooper efforts to show how a "well-funded public education system" can benefit the economy and community.
The governor's office noted many children in the state rely on school meals for their nutritional needs.
All school districts and schools that receive funds will use it to make school meals available to students for free. Each school and district was selected through a grant program managed by the Carolina Hunger Initiative as well as the North Carolina Alliance for Health.
As part of this effort, schools will use funds to buy kitchen equipment to increase capacity for meal prep and serving equipment to help best distribute the meals.
“We know that hungry kids can’t learn,” NC Alliance for Health Executive Director Morgan Wittman Gramann said. “These grants enable schools to find creative ways to make sure that every child has the nutrition that they need to focus on learning.”
Some of the schools within the program have already started and others are expected to start in the coming school year, according to the governor's office.
The full list of school districts and charter schools selected is as follows:
- Alexander County Schools
- Arapahoe Charter School
- Asheboro City Schools
- Buncombe County Schools
- Cabarrus County Schools
- Catawba County Schools
- Cherokee County Schools
- Cleveland County Schools
- Craven County Schools
- Durham Public Schools
- Edgecombe County Public Schools
- Graham County Schools
- Greene County Public Schools
- Guilford County Schools
- Guilford Preparatory Academy Charter School
- Halifax County Schools
- Henderson Collegiate
- Henderson County Public Schools
- Iredell-Statesville Schools
- Johnston County Public Schools
- Madison County Schools
- Mitchell County Schools
- New Hanover County Schools
- North East Carolina Prep School
- Pamlico County Schools
- Pender County Schools
- Polk County Schools
- Robeson County Schools
- Rockingham County Schools
- Rowan-Salisbury Schools
- Rutherford County Schools
- Sampson County Schools
- Surry County Schools
- Swain County Schools
- Transylvania County Schools
- Tyrrell County Schools
- Union County Public Schools
- Wake County Public School System
- Washington County Schools
- Wilkes County Schools
- Wilson County Schools
- Yadkin County Schools