More schools offer free breakfast and lunch in Wake county

WAKE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- Great news for students and families in Wake County Schools. Thousands of students will either receive free breakfast or free breakfast and lunch next school year.

Delaney Waugh Keen and Erin Windley just finished their second year teaching at Beaverdam Elementary School in Raleigh, and said they were surprised to learn about food insecurity.

"I grew up in a family of teachers," said Erin Windley.

According to district policy, if students don't have lunch money after a certain number of days, the cafeteria manager takes their tray and gives the child a piece of fruit and vegetable, not an entrée.

Windley and Waugh Keen shared their concerns with the school board.

"I would keep extra money in my classroom for students that didn't have any money," said Windley. "And I would give it to them and I don't know if that's the right thing to do, but I would give them money to put in their accounts, at least for the day."

"They were embarrassed... and especially through the testing. I heard that several of the upper-grade students who this was happening to...were really stressed out throughout testing because they weren't sure if they were going to be able to eat," said Waugh Keen.

Beaverdam Elementary School is one of 28 schools qualifying for the USDA program, allowing their school to serve breakfast and lunch to all enrolled students---- at no cost.

"I feel really excited. I'm looking forward to seeing the policy enacted," said Waugh Keen. "I think the students are going to be excited, too. It's going to relieve a burden on a lot of our most vulnerable students. And hopefully, there they find the cafeteria a place of joy."

These teachers believe the program will have a major impact on student success.

"I've seen students fall asleep, I've seen them cry because they're hungry. I've seen them complain after lunch saying they only had a fruit or a vegetable, and they're still hungry. So I know that that's something that will definitely increase there, you know, academics and them paying attention and then just having a great time at school," said Windley.

For a list of schools that qualified for the program click here.