As we prepare to dive back into the 2016-17 school year, our goal at Niles Community Schools remains the same: to ensure the academic success of our students.

One important piece of making sure students perform at their very best is proper eating habits. Unfortunately, for many children, it’s not simply a question of eating right, but also a question of eating at all.

According to the Center for Disease Control, hunger due to insufficient food intake is associated with lower grades, higher rates of absenteeism, repeating a grade and inability to focus among students. It is for these reasons that Niles Community Schools believes strongly that our families must take advantage of the free and reduced lunch options available for students across all of our schools — including high school.

We know that students who eat meals served through the National School Lunch Program are more likely to be at a healthier weight than their peers, according to the School Nutrition Association. To that end, we make sure our school meal plans teach lifelong healthy eating habits by providing age-appropriate serving sizes for every student and introducing children to a wide range of healthy options at a young age. Also, our menus are 100 percent whole grain and we offer locally grown fresh produce when available

As mentioned, meeting children’s nutritional needs bolsters learning. Niles Community Schools offers Universal Free Breakfast in the classroom in all of our elementary buildings. We know it is important that students start the day with a nutritionally balanced breakfast so they can perform better in the classroom. In order to continue the program, we need parents to fill out the USDA Free & Reduced Lunch application

Even if you do not think you will qualify or your student does not participate in the school lunch program, it is still critical to fill out this important application. Besides Universal Free Breakfast, the application process helps make after school and summer meal programs possible to the students in our community. Niles Food Service will have served almost 13,000 meals to children in our community this summer and this was made possible through community members filling out these forms.

We realize that there may be concerns about stigmas associated with being eligible for Free and Reduced Meals. For that reason, Niles Food Service uses a Computerized Point of Sale system that maintains a student’s privacy so other students will not know if someone qualifies for the program. The most important thing is making sure our children receive proper nutrition.

Free and reduced applications can be picked up at any school office or they can be accessed and submitted online by visiting www.lunchapp.com.

Thank you for your continued support in helping our children be the best they can be, I look forward to another fruitful and positive school year here at Niles Community Schools.

 

Dr. Dan Applegate is Superintendent at Niles Community Schools.