The smell of maple syrup and savory sausages filled the air at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé on Tuesday morning.
It was breakfast time and Claire Snyder, a junior at the high school, walked down the cafeteria line to grab a bite to eat before class.
“Usually sometimes I don’t have enough time to get something at home, or I just forget,” she said. “I’m really good at forgetting things.”
The district’s free universal breakfast program means students don’t have to start the day with an empty stomach and families don’t have to worry about paying for it. The Juneau School Board voted on Tuesday to extend the benefit for another semester — but after that, its future is uncertain.
“It’s really convenient and nice for people who just don’t have enough time, and at least they can start with breakfast, because starting with breakfast gives them at least something throughout the day,” Snyder said.
Snyder is one of about 60 students who eat breakfast at the high school – and one of 650 students who eat it across the district. It’s free to every student. Schools across the country invest in meals because studies show that children who eat a nutritious breakfast perform better in school than those who don’t.
“As much as we would like to think that kids go home and have nutritious food, we know that that doesn’t always happen,” said Elizabeth Seitz, who oversees the district’s breakfast and lunch programs.
Seitz said the breakfast program has been in place for nearly a decade. Community donors help keep it free, but support has decreased over time. She said each breakfast costs roughly $4.50 a meal before federal reimbursements.
“Being able to offer all the kids a free breakfast is a huge benefit to the community, as well as our students,” she said. “The students don’t need to now worry about where they’re going to get their breakfast, so they’re not thinking about an empty stomach while they’re trying to study and learn.”
On Tuesday, the school board voted to absorb a $115,000 funding gap for the semester using some unexpected funding from the state. But, that money isn’t promised for next school year — or the year after that.
That concerns Randy Pierce, the head cook in the high school’s kitchen. She said knowing that students are getting a nutritious meal every day is what gets her up in the morning.
“You don’t know a child’s outside life. You don’t know if they’re getting breakfast in the morning. At least we know when they’re coming here and they’re getting that free breakfast,” she said. “We know they’re getting fed, and if they lose that, who knows if they’re getting to eat at home.”
School Board members like Emil Mackey said the district needs to find reliable funding quickly if they want to keep the program free.
“This is something we need to really deep-dive in the budget, and really reach out to our partners and see what we can do to accommodate this in the future,” he said. “This is not a cost that we just continue to absorb without help.”
Seitz said that, in the meantime, she plans to reach out to more community partners to see if they can offer more funding. She also wants to get more families to apply for the program so the district qualifies for more federal reimbursement money.
That’s all to keep students like Savannah Sonesen fed and able to focus on school. She said it really helps her pay attention during the day.
“If I don’t get breakfast at home, I sometimes come here,” she said. “Or if I really would like to try out the breakfast here, I’ll go for it.”