The Trenton Times published the following article on November 25, 2013. To read the full article, click here.
More Trenton students eating district’s free breakfasts
By Jenna Pizzi/The Times of Trenton
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on November 25, 2013 at 9:38 PM, updated November 25, 2013 at 9:39 PMTRENTON — Although the school district has received push-back from teachers and administrators over a controversial program to serve breakfast in the classroom, more students are eating a meal at school to start their day.
The number of students taking the free meals from the “grab-and-go” carts or sitting down to eat the meals in school cafeteria or gymnasium has increased since the start of the school year in September, said Denise Holguin, the meal growth director for Aramark, the company that has the grant to provide the food to all Trenton public school students.
“The more students that are eating, the better they are going to learn,” Holguin said.
The company reports that last month there were 5,285 students participating in all aspects of the breakfast program, a 45 percent increase from the same time last year. But Aramark is still looking to expand the number of schools participating in the Breakfast in the Classroom part of the program.
Only students at the district’s early childhood center and Paul Robeson Charter School are using that program, where students are served the meals in their classroom before the start of the school day.