PENDER COUNTY, NC - Pender County Schools is excited to announce that it has been named among the recipients of a North Carolina Innovative School Breakfast Grant. The grant, totaling $10,112, comes as part of a statewide initiative aimed at expanding access to healthy school breakfast for students across North Carolina.
Awarded by the Office of Governor Roy Cooper, the grant is part of a larger effort to distribute $1.3 million to 258 public schools statewide. The aim is to ensure that more than 51,000 students have access to nutritious meals during the school day.
“Our schools play a crucial role in providing nutritious meals to our students, many of whom rely on these meals for their daily nutritional needs,” said Dr. Brad Breedlove, Superintendent of Pender County Schools. “This grant will allow us to enhance our meal prep capacity and streamline the distribution process, ensuring that our students have access to healthy meals in a convenient and efficient manner.”
The grant recipients were selected based on their participation in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program, a federal initiative that provides free meals for all students in schools with high percentages of low-income and at-risk 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,” said Governor Cooper. “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 grant will support the expansion of Pender County Schools' grab-and-go breakfast programs. Conveniently located at the entrances of eight Pender institutions, these easy-to-access meals ensure that when parents drop off their children, they can easily grab a meal to take with them.