THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 15, 1996 TAG: 9609150052
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HERTFORD LENGTH: 92 lines
Before school opens at Perquimans High, students can set down their book bags and pick up a trayful of food. But they don't plop down any money.
For any of this year's 600 or so high school students who want it, breakfast is on the house.
More precisely, many meals are being paid for with a national grant from American Express, endorsed by the likes of director Spike Lee and musician Stevie Wonder.
Since the national Charge Against Hunger program began in 1993, more than $15 million has been raised to feed students across the United States.
Last year, Perquimans High School received an $8,000 slice of that pie and is using it to offer free breakfasts to every student, regardless of socioeconomic status, unlike federal programs that are only for the poor.
Gates and Tyrrell counties received similar grants for their school systems.
``When they have breakfast, they stay more alert during class,'' said Donna Harris, the Perquimans schools' child nutritionist who applied for the grant from the credit card company through the nonprofit Save Our Strength organization.
``Hopefully, we'll be able to show it improves their test scores eventually,'' Harris added.
After becoming the child nutritionist in November, Harris noticed a lot of high school students skipped breakfast.
Some were more interested in socializing before classes. Others who qualified for free or subsidized meals feared being stigmatized.
And some with recently polished teeth simply didn't want ``breakfast breath.''
``Or they would rather sleep an extra 15 minutes than get here earlier to eat,'' Harris said.
To accommodate teen-agers' preferences, Harris planned to have bagged breakfasts delivered to classrooms after first period. But there were scheduling problems.
Still, the before-school program is gaining popularity. This year 553 breakfasts had been served through Tuesday, compared with 337 at the same time last year.
``That's a big increase,'' said Harris, a Perquimans High graduate who worked as a bookkeeper for six years before her current post.
The breakfasts, which normally cost 65 cents, usually consist of sausage biscuits, toast, cereal, juice or banana and milk. An occasional coffee cake, pecan twirl or muffin is offered, too.
Cafeteria Manager Vicki Colson has tried to provide a colorful service area with bright bulletin boards and banana trees.
The biscuits are the most popular, while milk is most likely to get thrown away unopened.
Educators believe the breakfast program will aid growing teens and improve school attendance and classroom behavior.
``If they don't eat anything from dinner one night to lunch the next day, that's a long gap,'' Harris said. ``You're not fueling your body. Your blood sugar goes low and you just don't have the energy.''
Principal Elaine Pritchard said she's pleased with the way things have been going since school opened in August, particularly with enrollment growing almost weekly.
Douglas Umphlett, who monitors the cafeteria and also works with at-risk youth, isn't sure of the free breakfasts' immediate impact.
But, he said, ``It can't have anything but a positive effect to learning,'' he said, even if it's getting tardy students to school early to eat.
The high school breakfast program has traditionally had low participation, despite a large number of students who would qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
Within the school system's two elementary schools, middle school and high school, 71 percent of its students qualify for subsidized lunches.
A fourth of all families in the county, with a population of almost 11,000, earn income below the poverty level. Twenty-six percent of the schools' 1,940 students receive welfare.
``Many students are from families who are dealing with unemployment, poverty, substandard housing, transportation problems, drug abuse, domestic violence and health crises,'' Harris said in her grant application.
``Statistics indicate that students from low-income families depend on school breakfast/lunch programs for as much as one-half of their nutritional intake each day.''
But participation drops dramatically after elementary school. Forty-two percent of elementary students receive subsidized meals, but only 18 percent of middle school students and 15 percent of high school students participate.
Harris said forms are still used to determine who receives government-subsidized breakfasts. The grant pays for those who don't qualify.
Robert Jones, a senior, is glad for the program, in part because it provides something precious to most teen-agers - pocket change.
``It saves money on me because I had to pay for breakfast before,'' he said.
``If they didn't have this food, I wouldn't be eating as much.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by ANNE SAITA
Lashanda Felton, a Perquimans High junior, eats a free breakfast. by CNB