"It's been huge for our district. It's really about meeting the needs of the students and the families, so it's been huge here," Principal Matt Schmidt said.
Since February, more than 800 students have been starting their day on a full stomach through the Universal Free Breakfast program.
"We serve yogurt, we serve bagels, whole grain breakfast bars, fresh fruit, apples, pears, bananas," explained Food Service Director Lorie Grant.
The cost for each cold meal is right around 80 cents. To cover that, Handy applied for and received $8,000 in grants from The United Dairy Industry and the Got Breakfast Foundation.
"It was a nationwide grant, and there were over 1,400 applicants. Only seven were awarded, and Bay City was one of the seven," Grant said.
In just three short months, staff members are noticing fewer late arrivals. They believe that will lead to better report cards.
"Grades and achievement. That's what we're all about," Schmidt said. "Right now, we're tracking the data so we'll know it later in the school year."
Whatever the numbers, students like Emily Hill already feel the difference, both mentally and physically. "It helps me a lot. I can concentrate much more during my fourth hour, which is right before lunch, which is a lot of help."
The Free Universal Breakfast program can be found in three of Bay City's elementary schools, as well as Handy Middle School. The hope is to eventually bring it into the high schools as well.
