RELEASE: Hawkins County Public School Staffers Named No Kid Hungry School Breakfast Heroes

Contact: Johanna Elsemore at 202.478.6554 or jelsemore@strength.org

Washington, DC – The national anti-hunger campaign No Kid Hungry has announced six winners of its 2020 School Breakfast Hero contest. This year’s inspiring line up of champions come from all walks of life, proof that ending childhood hunger takes all of us. Whether they spend their days speaking on the statehouse floor, preparing gourmet cakes and pies or serving up healthy school meals – each is using a unique talent to make sure kids start the day with a healthy meal. 

Breakfast is an energy source for kids, but 1 in 7 kids in America lives with hunger and may start the school day on an empty stomach. Research shows that hunger has long-term ramifications on children, including lower test scores, weaker attendance rates, and a higher risk of hospitalizations and chronic diseases. School breakfast is a critical way to end childhood hunger. No Kid Hungry’s School Breakfast Hero award celebrates individuals who are helping to ensure all kids in America are powered by breakfast by using their voices to build awareness, enact smart policies, raise critical funds and implement breakfast after the bell programs in schools. 

Among this year’s breakfast heroes are Hawkins County Public Schools’ Coordinated School Health Director Erika Phillips and Child Nutrition Director Mandy Kenner, who have been instrumental in the district wide implementation of breakfast after the bell this school year.

When Erika Phillips saw the data in August on how many students in Hawkins County School District were missing breakfast each morning, she was determined to find a way to implement breakfast after the bell district wide. She joined forces with Mandy Kenner to gain the support of district leaders and get input from each principal on which model would work best in their school. In October, Hawkins County began serving breakfast after the bell at all 18 schools and credit flexibility and teamwork for the successful district-wide implementation. Phillips and Kenner have already heard from educators that grab and go breakfast has been a great leadership opportunity for their students, and school nurses reported fewer morning visits thanks to the new opportunity for students to grab breakfast between classes.

In talking with Phillips and Kenner, they were grateful for state, district and school level collaboration throughout the breakfast after the bell implementation process. "Once Erika received school breakfast data and statistics through a Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) partnership with No Kid Hungry, we met with our Director of Schools Matt Hixson to discuss our challenges and goals," Kenner said. "Mr. Hixson immediately supported No Kid Hungry's data showing breakfast as a critical means to better meet the needs of our students and committed to district-wide implementation of breakfast after the bell."

Phillips added, "We want to applaud Mandy and her cafeteria staff, in addition to our principals and other school staff who go above and beyond to make sure every student has a chance to start the day with breakfast. Many applied for and received five grants from TDOE and No Kid Hungry to assist schools with implementing breakfast after the bell initiatives. We are incredibly proud of the efforts made by so many to ensure our students arrive to class prepared to meet the challenges of the day." 

Accessing traditional cafeteria breakfast service can be challenging for many kids due to transportation delays, stigma and other barriers. Breakfast after the bell allows students to get breakfast after the school day starts in the classroom or from grab and go carts. This makes breakfast convenient and accessible to students, resulting in more kids starting the day ready to learn.