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On The Wire

Perdue launches 'No Kid Hungry' initiative

Gov. Bev Perdue joined with two non-profit organizations Tuesday to launch an initiative aimed at ensuring children in public schools eat a nutritious breakfast.

More than one in four children in North Carolina are threatened by hunger, and less than half of the 640,000 students that qualify for free or reduced lunch take advantage of school breakfast, according to a press release by Share Our Strength, the primary non-profit organization supporting the initiative.

“I had the option to get free breakfast in high school, but I opted out because my ride and I did not get there in time,” UNC freshman Tyshawn Sutton said.

The new program — No Kid Hungry — will make breakfast more convenient by offering health options in to-go bags. Students will not be required to arrive at school early in order to receive breakfast.

Perdue introduced the program in an appearance at Lakewood Elementary School in Durham Tuesday.

In the first year of the program, 27 schools will participate, according to the press release.

“Insuring that kids are well-fed and well-educated will give better opportunities in careers, college or technical training.” Perdue’s spokesman Mark Johnson said.

No state funding will be used for No Kid Hungry.

Funds will be provided by Share Our Strength, and the breakfast food is federally funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“One of Governor Perdue’s objectives is to make state government more efficient,” Johnson said. “One way to do that is by establishing partnerships with the private sector.”

“With this program, Governor Perdue is lending her support to a private sector program with great promise,” he said.

Officials said No Kid Hungry has the potential to last beyond its pilot year.

“Our hope is that over the course of time, every public school in the state will be providing breakfast to more and more kids who qualify for it,” Lou Anne Crumpler, executive director of the N.C. Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service.

Even though the program is not receiving state funding, legislators have expressed support for it.

“The idea of there not being hungry children in North Carolina is something I think nobody disagrees with,” said Rep. Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke, chairman of the N.C. House of Representatives’ Appropriations Subcommittee on Education.

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