Dowagiac students now have the chance to start off their mornings on a tasty and filling note — and it won’t cost them or their parents a dime in the process.

Dowagiac Union Schools food services vendor, Sodexo, officially announced Monday that cafeterias across all six district schools will be offering morning breakfast service completely free to students. The meals will include an entrée, juice, milk and fruit, and will be offered for no charge to any student, regardless of whether or not they are enrolled in free or reduced lunch program, said Food Services Director Deb Cahill.

Cahill made the announcement to the public during Monday’s meeting of the Dowagiac Union Schools Board of Education meeting, which took place that evening at Dowagiac Middle School.

The cafeteria has actually been offering free breakfasts since school resumed earlier in the month, but launched it rather quietly to ensure that service would go smoothly, Cahill said.

The food services department has been working with district administrators to roll out the program for over a year now, she said.

“Statistics show that if kids eat breakfast during the morning, they are more attentive during the day,” she said.

In addition to hot entrée dishes at the middle and high school, the cafeteria also offers cold items like cereal or pop tarts to students, as well a section to make yogurt parfaits, Cahill said.

Though schools have been serving breakfast for a number of years now, only around 25 percent of the total student population were taking advantage of the service, a number that has been steadily growing in recent weeks, Cahill said.

“Having such a high number of students enrolled in free and reduced lunch programs, it made sense to give students something to encourage them to eat every morning,” Cahill said. “So, free breakfast — done.”

Similar to the free and reduced lunch programs, costs associated with the free breakfast program are subsidized by the government, Cahill said.

Breakfast is served everyday in the cafeteria before the first bell, from 7 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. at the middle and high school buildings, and from 8:30 a.m. until 9 a.m. at the elementary school buildings.

The food services director encourages students to take advantage of the new program, she said.

“Just come and enjoy a good breakfast with your friends,” Cahill said.