ERVING — Due to its successful mission in providing each student with free breakfast and lunch, Erving Elementary was recently awarded a $500 grant by the Eos Foundation.
The Massachusetts-based Eos Foundation seeks to end childhood poverty “by investing in children’s futures,” according to its website. The award will officially be presented in Boston to the school May 10.
Trill says while the school hasn’t determined what to use the grant for yet, it plans to spend it in a “fun” way for the kids.
Erving Elementary’s Free Breakfast and Lunch Program, also called Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), means that students no longer have to specially claim free meals if they’re from a low-income family. All students at Erving Elementary from preschool to sixth grade may take advantage of this program.
School officials are also reaching out to students to get feedback on food offered. In May, students will be given the opportunity to design healthy and cost-efficient breakfast and lunches that are appealing to others.
Students are also welcome to bring their own lunches from home, but Trill says 80 to 90 percent of the school’s approximately 145 students accept the free breakfasts and lunches offered at school.
Trill says that much of the free meals consists of whole grain and complies with USDA standards. For breakfast, students can expect to choose from items like yogurt, bacon, cereal, waffles and French toast with local syrup, yogurt-based smoothies, fresh fruit and egg sandwiches. None of this food is prepackaged.
“We will cook the eggs, cook the bacon and bake muffins,” Trill said. “The kids get a choice.”
The menus change daily and each student may choose a hot or cold breakfast.
As for the program, Trill says the students love it, especially since it gives them tasks of responsibility. Student ambassadors hand out breakfasts to classrooms and others ensure that the classrooms are cleaned up after each meal.
For breakfasts, the students eat in their classrooms in a “relaxed, casual atmosphere” and eat “family-style,” according to Trill. Younger students sit and talk with their classmates, and older students sometimes watch and discuss the news while they eat.
Trill says that making sure his students get a healthy, wholesome breakfast definitely improves focus and performance, but “it isn’t about data.”
“It’s about kids enjoying going to school,” he said.
The free breakfasts and lunches began in 2015 when Erving’s Selectmen, school committee, and superintendent were seeking out ways to get free lunch for students. Erving was eligible for the Community Eligibility Program, which is an option for schools in low-income areas where households do not have to fill out an application.
CEP reimburses schools using a formula based on the percentage of students eligible for free meals based on their family’s participation in programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
“Some schools, if you get free and reduced lunches you have to stand in a separate line,” Trill said. “Here, all kids are the same. It’s nice to see that.”
Reach Christie Wisniewski at: 413-772-0261, ext. 280 or
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