The Pella Community School District is offering free breakfast for all students this academic year. In May, the Pella School Board approved a resolution as a way to reduce the food service department’s fund balance, and the district was required to find a way to spend those resources. Superintendent Greg Ebeling says the board determined the best way to do so was to provide a resource that acts as an investment in the school day, ensuring students are well-fed heading into class.

“Our overall food service balance and budget is really healthy, and we needed to look how we could use those funds to both enhance our lunch and breakfast items, and give them more options, and at the same time, we looked at this free option for breakfast.”

The cost to the district will be $60,000, and Ebeling believes they can offer free meals in the morning for years to come because of how successful the budget has been managed.

“Kids coming to school, it’s great for them to have breakfast before they try to learn, and we also have lots of kids in activities in the morning, and giving them availability to have breakfast after some of those activities are completed is also important.”

To qualify, the meal must include all required components to be considered nutritious. No sign-up is needed — all students are invited to eat approximately 30 minutes prior to the start of the school day.