SBCSC to provide students with free breakfast and lunch for fourth straight year

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - With the first bell less than 12 hours away for South Bend students, kids and parents are going to have a lot on their minds.

And for the fourth year in a row now, they won’t have to worry about having breakfast or lunch ready.

The South Bend Community School Corporation has brought back an important program, providing free and nutritious meals to its students for the 2024-2025 school year.

“We recognize that our students and families need additional support,” said Kareemah Fowler, assistant superintendent for SBCSC. “We understand what the science says about eating and learning.”

The community eligibility provision has been around since 2021 at South Bend schools. It allows the schools to sign students up directly with the program, forgoing forms needing to be filled out.

This allows the students to get access to the meals with no hassle.

“We are extremely proud that’s one less thing that parents have to worry about when sending their kids off to school,” Fowler said.

Taking away the stress of worrying about meals for their kids can be a big relief for some parents, both on the wallets and their mental.

“They were on the program before we moved,” said Joe Henton, a parent whose children were at SBCSC last year. “I had them on that program, I can’t say the exact dollar amount, but it’s well worth it for sure. There are some families that have a divide between the finances, so I see it more as giving the backbone to the people who can’t do that stuff for their kids on a regular basis.”

The program has been such a success for SBCSC and parents over the years. It has since been adopted by the School City of Mishawaka and Elkhart Community Schools.

“We’re always trying to be the trend setters,” said Dr. JeNevea Adams, chief academic officer for SBCSC. “But we are always trying to put the best effort and foot forward for our students and families. We are trying to meet their needs. So, if we can take this off their plates and just be able to set them up for the best academic year we can have, that’s what we want to do.”

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