KANNAPOLIS — More students are eating lunch because of the Community Eligibility Provision the Kannapolis City School system put in place this year.

At the Kannapolis City Schools Board of Education meeting on Monday, Anne Treanor, director of school nutrition, said the schools are serving 518 more lunch meals per day, which is a 14 percent increase from the previous year. District-wide, about 78 percent of students, or 8 out of every 10 students, are eating lunch.

That number is above the national average of an 8 to 12 percent increase of students who are eating school lunches.

“This exceeds my expectations. I was really surprised that it would be this much of a difference,” Vice-Chairwoman Danita Rickard said. “So that’s excellent.”

The school system is also serving more breakfast meals per day, with a 6 percent increase from last year. About 45 percent of students in the district are participating in breakfast.

A.L. Brown High School had the largest increase in participation, with a 29 percent increase from this time last year. An average of 855 lunches are served each day.

“It’s very important that we’re offering that program in the high school because obviously those kids needed that,” Board Chairman Todd Adams said.

Woodrow Wilson and Fred L. Wilson elementary schools had the highest participation rates, with 88.5 percent of students participating in lunch at Woodrow Wilson and 88.1 percent of students participating at Fred L. Wilson.

The school system decided to participate in the federal program in July of this year. The program provides free meals to all students in Kannapolis City Schools.

Board members wondered why there was such a gap between breakfast and lunch participation.

Rickard said car riders, who can arrive at school a little later, might not be going to breakfast.

“If it were me, I would opt for more sleep over breakfast,” Rickard said.

Adams suggested looking at offering breakfast in the classrooms again.

The board members were pleased with the progress of the program, especially at the high school level where students may be more sensitive to the stigma of receiving free meals.

“I think when we can offer this program, we’re eliminating (stigma) and you’re going to see an increase in participation,” Treanor said.

In other action, the board:

 

• Approved a plan for district improvement
• Adopted the school calendar for the 2016-2017 school year
• Approved the proposed supplement schedule for teachers and other licensed staff, as well as non-certified employees and other staff

Contact reporter Amanda Raymond at 704-797-4222.