RALEIGH — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced $1.3 million in grants to 42 public school districts and charter schools in North Carolina to help 51,000 students access a healthy school breakfast.
“Our public schools not only provide safe places for children to learn, but also healthy meals for students who sometimes face food insecurity at home,” Cooper said in a statement. “These grants will help more public schools provide breakfast for children in the classroom so they can start their day ready to learn and be successful.”
The grants, called NC Innovative School Breakfast Grants, were made possible through federal funds allocated by the governor in October 2023.
The grants aim to address food insecurity among students, with Cooper’s statement citing “nearly 60%” of North Carolina public school students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, and “approximately 1 in 6 children” in the state lack consistent access to food at home.
Recipients of the grants utilize the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) to offer free meals to all students without charge to their families.
The selection of districts and charter schools for the grants was conducted through a competitive process managed by the Carolina Hunger Initiative and the North Carolina Alliance for Health.
Districts and schools included per the governor’s statement include Alexander County Schools, Arapahoe Charter School, Asheboro City Schools, Buncombe County Schools, Cabarrus County Schools, Catawba County Schools, Cherokee County Schools, Cleveland County Schools, Craven County Schools, Durham Public Schools, Edgecombe County Public Schools, Graham County Schools, Greene County Public Schools, Guilford County Schools, Guilford Preparatory Academy Charter School, Halifax County Schools, Henderson Collegiate, Henderson County Public Schools, Iredell-Statesville Schools, Johnston County Public Schools, Madison County Schools, Mitchell County Schools, New Hanover County Schools, North East Carolina Prep School, Pamlico County Schools, Pender County Schools, Polk County Schools, Robeson County Schools, Rockingham County Schools, Rowan-Salisbury Schools, Rutherford County Schools, Sampson County Schools, Surry County Schools, Swain County Schools, Transylvania County Schools, Tyrrell County Schools, Union County Public Schools, Wake County Public Schools, Washington County Schools, Wilkes County Schools, Wilson County Schools and Yadkin County Schools.
