Roz Thompson [00:00:07] Welcome to AWSP and our talk show on Breakfast After the Bell as a powerful and beneficial school program. [00:00:15] My name is Roz Thompson and I'm the director of government relations and advocacy for AWSP. [00:00:20] And I have the honor of working with our wellness partner, Kaiser Permanente, on many important initiatives for staff and student wellness. [00:00:28] Kaiser introduced us to the work that United Way of King County has done and is doing across the state with regard to breakfast in schools. [00:00:37] And I'm pleased to welcome Nelly Evans from United Way of King County today and also Mikhail Cherniske from the Department of Child Nutrition at OSPI to talk more about this topic and how principals can really boost breakfast programs in their schools. [00:00:54] So welcome again. [00:00:55] And Nellie, would you like to introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about you? Nelly Evans [00:01:00] My pleasure. [00:01:00] Thanks so much, Roz, for the introduction. [00:01:03] Hello to everyone listening in. [00:01:05] My name is Nelly Evans. [00:01:06] I use she her pronouns, and I work for the United Way of King County as a food security program coordinator. [00:01:12] As Roz mentioned, our work is state wide and our work is really to help schools adopt efficient and sustainable meal operations so that we can improve meal participation and reduce childhood hunger across Washington State. [00:01:26] I joined the United Way of King County team last winter, and prior to that I was doing this work across Northern Virginia, working with around 30 school districts, primarily secondary schools, to implement breakfast after the bell, which you will hear so much about in just a few minutes. Roz Thompson [00:01:44] Great. [00:01:44] How about you, Mikhail? [00:01:45] Let us know about what you are up to. Mikhail Cherniske [00:01:48] Yeah. [00:01:48] So hi, everyone. [00:01:49] My name is Mikhail Cherniske. [00:01:50] I'm the legislative program specialist at OSPI Child Nutrition Services. [00:01:55] I was originally hired a few years back to actually implement Breakfast After The Bell when it was first passed by the state legislature. [00:02:02] So I've kind of been, the bill has been the driving force behind my work at OSPI for a while now. [00:02:09] And then with that, I also work on other food legislation that really works in partnership with Breakfast After The Bell. [00:02:16] So we've been working together with United Way for a number of years now, and thanks so much for having me. Roz Thompson [00:02:22] Yeah, great, well, we've got a series of questions for you, so I'm going to pose the question and I'll let you to be the experts and jump in with some good information for principals. [00:02:31] So we know the pandemic has increased food security among Washington students and families and that food insecurity negatively impacts mental and physical health of young minds and bodies. [00:02:42] And these impacts are a struggle that many principals and teachers encounter when returning to school, whether it's been this year or next fall. [00:02:49] What what did hunger look like? [00:02:51] Pre pandemic? [00:02:53] Where are we now? [00:02:54] And how do principals fit into the picture of helping students overcome food insecurity moving forward. Mikhail Cherniske [00:03:02] I’m going to jump off and just first, talk a little bit about our child nutrition programs as a whole. [00:03:06] And Nelly if you want to talk about some pre pandemic hunger statistics that you've got. [00:03:12] So so we administer the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. [00:03:17] So these are two federal programs that serve breakfast and lunch in your schools. [00:03:23] We have around twenty one hundred schools that operate breakfast and lunch in Washington State. [00:03:30] And so this is a pretty big, big program in twenty nineteen statewide served over one hundred and sixty million meals. [00:03:39] So just want to say hats off to everybody that helps work on these programs, the principals that, that help administer them in the buildings that the child nutrition department at the district level that support them. [00:03:49] This is a pretty incredible program statewide and nationally as well. [00:03:54] So, yeah. [00:03:55] And so we have we have these great programs. [00:03:59] And so pre pandemic, you know, we were we still had considerable breakfast gap that Nelly might talk about in the second, which is the gap between breakfast and lunch participation. [00:04:13] And so, you know, school lunches is pretty regularly served, regularly consumed by schoolchildren. [00:04:19] But there's always been this gap between how many kids are getting school lunch and how many are getting school breakfast. [00:04:24] And so that's usually called the breakfast gap that we've been working really hard to pre pandemic to to decrease that gap, to bring breakfast participation up to school lunch participation, because we know that there is hungry students that that that could benefit from this program, that could benefit from having a breakfast every morning. Nelly Evans [00:04:41] Mikhail, I couldn't say I couldn't have said it any better myself. [00:04:44] So pre pandemic hunger in our schools nationwide and in Washington state was very real. [00:04:52] The numbers vary. [00:04:53] People like to say one in seven, one in six. [00:04:56] And then when we were faced with this pandemic, it was really projected to be one in five students would be facing hunger. [00:05:04] Luckily, now that we're a year and a half into this pandemic, it is standing around. [00:05:08] The one in six students may struggle with hunger is the statistic that Washington state has been kind of labeled with. [00:05:16] But from more specific Washington state surveys on food security, it's looking like between 30 percent of households are experiencing hunger. [00:05:26] And of those households, fifty nine percent have children at home. [00:05:30] So this is very much a familial issue and an issue that many, many principals will be facing and confronting when it comes to back to school time. [00:05:40] And this hunger issue is disproportionately an issue that we see among BIPOC students. [00:05:47] So those are black, indigenous and students of color. [00:05:51] They were already disproportionately reliant on school meals, that those are numbers that we can see through free and reduced school enrollment with ethnic and demographic data. [00:06:02] And this is an equity issue. [00:06:04] Students of color are more likely to be food insecure because of structural racism. [00:06:10] And increasing access to food within your schools is a really important step that principals can take to eliminate health disparities, especially these racial health disparities that we know are very real across our state so principals can support school meal programs. [00:06:25] McConnell laid out the two programs that we primarily work on that school breakfast and school lunch. [00:06:31] And we'll get into the nitty gritty of what those programs look like and what those best practices are. [00:06:35] But principals are in this position to influence staff, influence teachers, parents and students, as well as their ability to adjust the bell schedule. [00:06:46] And they really are these pivotal catalysts within schools that can make all the difference to encourage students to access school meals. [00:06:54] And then we'll see these reductions of food insecurity and improved student behavior and academics. [00:07:01] There's really a lot of cascading benefits that can come with improved school meal access, which we will get into. [00:07:06] But really, principals are the key here to reduce that shame and stigma that is associated with school meals. [00:07:13] Did we answer all your questions wrong? Roz Thompson [00:07:15] Well, so far, so what I have not yet heard the term breakfast gap and I'm interested in and just having that as part of. [00:07:22] My vocabulary now and realizing that I get now what that breakfast gap is, and so this importance of starting the day off. [00:07:28] Right, and the importance of addressing hunger, because we know that that the end of the cascading effects like you're talking about our are there's so many benefits to addressing that at the beginning of the day. [00:07:40] I would love to hear more about how how can principals really make that a big the big impact on addressing student hunger and what are some of what our greatest opportunity it is there to to do this in our schools? Nelly Evans [00:07:53] I think Mikhail and I can both agree that school breakfast is our biggest opportunity. [00:07:58] But McCollom hoping you can quickly cover the really special opportunity all schools have this year to offer meals at no cost to all students through some current federal waivers. [00:08:11] But as our legislative expert, I want to give you the opportunity to share. Mikhail Cherniske [00:08:15] Appreciate it. [00:08:16] Yeah. [00:08:16] So we are in a very unique time or we have this opportunity from the federal government, the USDA, where next school year in the 21 22 school year, every school in Washington state can serve meals at no cost to all students. [00:08:32] So that means that every student every day can get a breakfast and a lunch free of charge, regardless of the family's income, regardless of if they filled out a free or reduced price application, regardless of if they go to a certain school, every student that is accessing meals can get them at no cost. [00:08:50] And so to put that a little bit of perspective, we have around four hundred schools statewide that currently through either the C P program or a program called provision to operate meals at no cost. [00:09:02] So right now we're a four hundred. [00:09:04] And so again, with twenty one hundred schools in Washington State that are on the National School Lunch Program and the school breakfast program, I mean, just the opportunity is huge. [00:09:16] And so again, this is a special kind of covid related waiver that the USDA granted to all states nationwide. [00:09:24] And so we're excited to help Washington schools take advantage of this and serve meals at no cost in this upcoming school year. Nelly Evans [00:09:32] And our biggest opportunity to get these reimbursements from adding breakfast participation to each school. [00:09:41] And like we'll get into all of the details and benefits of what breakfast can do for your school. [00:09:48] But it really is just the federal reimbursement that will come with increased participation and all the academic, behavioral and nutrition benefits that will come with increasing breakfast participation. [00:09:58] That that is definitely why we're here to talk today. Roz Thompson [00:10:01] That's fantastic. [00:10:02] I did not realize it went all through next school year. [00:10:04] It is obviously in place right now. [00:10:06] Is that right? [00:10:08] Yeah, but so to get as more kids come back and we hope the school looks a little more normal next year, all of next school year. [00:10:15] Twenty one twenty two later. [00:10:16] This applies to all twenty one hundred schools. [00:10:18] So. [00:10:20] Right, well, we need to know we need to know what this program looks like, but go ahead and finish first. [00:10:24] Oh. Mikhail Cherniske [00:10:25] I was just going to say it is it's an option. [00:10:28] So one thing. [00:10:29] Yeah, good to share is that, you know, if you go check in with your school district and make sure that you are planning on doing this. [00:10:35] And so it's not automatic. [00:10:37] Schools need districts to apply and don't really apply to let us know that they're planning on. Roz Thompson [00:10:44] Good deal. [00:10:45] Well, what if so if a school says, gosh, this sounds great, I need to do this, it won't cost me money, but I need to sign up. [00:10:52] How what is that look like? [00:10:54] I mean, what is the breakfast after the Bell program look like? [00:10:57] That nitty gritty that you're talking about now? [00:11:01] And what role can principals and teachers and people in the building play in that? Nelly Evans [00:11:05] So Breakfast After the bell is not a new program. [00:11:10] Michael will definitely be the expert here in breaking down what the school breakfast program exactly is. [00:11:14] But breakfast after the bell is just changing the time and location where and when you serve breakfast. [00:11:21] And there's three primary models that have been tried all across the country. [00:11:26] These are really national best practices that we have seen so much success, improving participation by just bringing breakfast into the school day and building it into your bell schedule. [00:11:37] So there are three primary models and that includes breakfast in the classroom, a second chance model and then a grab and go model. [00:11:46] And we can get into the nitty gritty there. [00:11:47] But Michael, I don't know if you want to quickly address give some background as far as the school breakfast program proper and how those reimbursements work and why these programs don't cost money for school principals. Mikhail Cherniske [00:12:00] Sure. [00:12:01] Yeah, of course. [00:12:01] So like I said, this is the National School Breakfast program. [00:12:06] And so how it works, the kind of behind the scenes money wise, is that if a per meal reimbursement program. [00:12:12] So at your school, you if if on Monday you serve a hundred breakfasts, well, then at the end of the month when when your district applies for reimbursement through OSPI, they would put down one hundred meals and then depending on the eligibility status of the students that received that meal, they would get a certain amount of reimbursement for those for those meals. [00:12:34] So as Nellie was saying, it's not like it costs the school money because the more meals you serve, the more reimbursement comes into the program and then you can use economies of scale and you can you have more money to invest in the school breakfast program. [00:12:48] So it's a per meal reimbursement program. [00:12:50] And so when we see these big participation increases from breakfast after the bell, that is every every extra meal that you weren't getting before this new revenue into the program, which is really exciting. [00:13:03] And we can help, you know, invest in new kitchen equipment and new tables and new innovative ways to serve, serve breakfast. [00:13:11] So it really is a it's a it's a great cycle that kind of happens when you can increase participation. [00:13:17] You can just keep it on, keep it going. Nelly Evans [00:13:19] So to better paint the picture, breakfast in the classroom is essentially when breakfast is delivered, served and then eaten in the classroom. [00:13:27] It's pretty much pretty straightforward. [00:13:29] The logistics behind it are definitely a place where principals can get into the decision making process. [00:13:35] As far as who is delivering meals, where are these coolers stored? [00:13:40] Are students involved in the delivery in pre covid days? [00:13:43] This was really an amazing opportunity to engage student leaders, classroom leaders. [00:13:48] I've seen young kindergartners carrying their coolers off to their classroom and breakfast in the classroom also facilitates this amazing community building opportunity that even throughout covid we've heard anecdotally from teachers and principals that like, wow, this this community time with children is is normalizing to some extent during all of this pandemic chaos. [00:14:10] So that's breakfast in the classroom. [00:14:12] Grab and go is a very common model that requires slightly less equipment. [00:14:18] So this is when easy to eat unities. [00:14:21] So that means in one small package, meals are available at a variety of convenient kiosks. [00:14:28] Whether that's at the bus drop off zone, you can open up the cafeteria to serve meals out of there. [00:14:35] But it's very much this grab and go from multiple kiosks, fashion. [00:14:38] So then students bring their meal back into the classroom and then are eating in the classroom as well. [00:14:43] Second chance looks very similar to grab and go. [00:14:46] The only difference is that it is offered at a second opportunity during the day, typically after your first or second period, very common in middle and high schools when teenagers primarily are maybe not quite hungry yet very early in the morning, or choosing to socialize during that first breakfast time. [00:15:05] That second chance opportunity is a great time to recoup some of the lost participation earlier in the day. [00:15:11] So those are the three models. [00:15:12] Participation rates are really, really high for breakfast in the classroom. [00:15:17] When you serve it in the classroom, it's very much an opt out option. [00:15:21] So most students are opted in and then they're having to decide that they don't want to eat breakfast. [00:15:26] And so by making it an opt out system, you see about eighty eight percent breakfast participation, which is really, really high. [00:15:33] Kind of the gold standard we want schools to achieve is around 70 percent. [00:15:37] So an 88 percent participation is is stellar for grab and go. [00:15:41] We typically see around 60 per. [00:15:43] And for a second chance, pretty close, it's around fifty eight percent, so pretty close between those two models and all of this compares to about a 50 percent participation rate when breakfast is served before the school day, whether that's during the caf in the cafeteria or some other area, we see pretty average participation during that time. [00:16:04] So, again, as a reminder, when you have that lower participation, not only are students likely going to be more hungry going into their learning in the morning, but you're also missing out on a lot, a lot of federal reimbursement, which is money that comes back into your school. Mikhail Cherniske [00:16:22] And I'll say I mentioned when I was talking about the reimbursement that it depends on on which student is receiving them, so usually that's how it works. [00:16:29] You know, you have some students that are eligible for free meals, some that are eligible for a reduced price meals, and then some that are or are paid students that are not eligible for one of those, too. [00:16:38] So it really depends, you know, unusual on pandemic times. [00:16:44] It depends on which student is getting that meal. [00:16:46] So if a student is getting a meal and a free student, then the reimbursement is different based on those things. [00:16:53] But as I mentioned, with this seamless summer option waiver, the SSI waiver from USDA, all students can be free so all students can be free. [00:17:04] And the USDA increased the reimbursement level to an even higher level than than what would normally be. [00:17:11] So. [00:17:12] So this is just kind of a perfect time for for trying out like breakfast in the classroom. [00:17:17] If you're one of the concerns is we're going have to figure out exactly which student is getting that meal. [00:17:21] This allows some some flexibilities in the meal accounting and probably get into that. [00:17:26] But just wanted to plug that. [00:17:28] This is a very unique opportunity where the reimbursement rates have never been never been higher for school breakfast. Roz Thompson [00:17:34] So. [00:17:34] Yeah, and so what I'm understanding is it seems like a lovely way to start the day with kids that you've seen proven evidence that when you have this universal breakfast and kids are all starting the day eating together in a classroom, grab and go whatever style, it is a great way to start the day. [00:17:51] It's a separate pot of money for that nutrition budget separate from the school school budget itself, the district budget itself. [00:18:00] So this is a great opportunity next year then to to start something that would could could add additional revenue into the school nutrition program in a district so perfect. [00:18:12] There would be some great opportunity next year. Nelly Evans [00:18:14] Absolutely. [00:18:15] And I would be remiss not to mention and we've kind of alluded to it a few times, but all of the benefits that research has showed that can come out, especially on the student end when they start the day off right with breakfast in their bellies, students who eat good breakfast perform better in school. [00:18:33] And that should not be a surprise to any principal or educator out there. [00:18:38] But research shows that students have higher attendance levels. [00:18:41] So if you are a principal facing chronic absenteeism in your school, there is research to back that up that will actually reduce chronic absenteeism by making it a part of the school day. [00:18:53] We also see that students have fewer behavioral issues. [00:18:56] We've alluded to the mental health benefits because we know food insecurity relates heavily to negative mental health and physical health. [00:19:06] And surprising to maybe not school nutrition professionals, but surprising to the general public is that school meals are some of the healthiest meals that are at that Americans are eating. [00:19:16] And I don't know if a lot of principals are familiar that the school nutrition program always has a registered dietitian on staff writing those menus and that these meals that are served are held up to the USDA nutrition guidelines. [00:19:29] Every single ounce is accounted for. [00:19:33] It just is. [00:19:34] These are very nutritious meals, even though they may not always they get a bad reputation. [00:19:41] But I think I just wanted to share that they are some of the most nutritious meals consumed in the country. Roz Thompson [00:19:48] Good deal. [00:19:48] OK, so a few more details maybe from your combined experience, tips and tricks in terms of model or scheduling or working with school nutrition staff and thinking about equipment, like you mentioned, the coolers coming to classrooms, I'm thinking of just the systems that principals might have to put in place. [00:20:10] What are some of the best kind of tips and tricks that you might share around that? Mikhail Cherniske [00:20:15] Now I can go. [00:20:17] Yeah, I think one of the biggest things that we've seen so much success with is just seeing the program firsthand. [00:20:25] So if you're if you're thinking, OK, you know, I've got an elementary school, my mornings are kind of chaotic. [00:20:30] It's a hassle trying to wrangle kids from from the playground. [00:20:34] You know, it's like you give them a choice. [00:20:36] You want to go sit in the cafeteria, eat breakfast, or do you want to go play with your friends? [00:20:39] Well, you know, I don't think it's a surprise or risk. [00:20:42] Participation drops. [00:20:44] So you're trying to figure that out and you think breakfast in the classroom sounds like a great, great idea. [00:20:50] I would recommend trying to see it. [00:20:52] If you could see in person. [00:20:53] I know before the pandemic that was much easier. [00:20:56] That's just a great way to kind of see how it actually happens. [00:20:59] Maybe you could. [00:21:00] Maybe you could virtually or if there's a video online to watch. [00:21:03] But I really think seeing is believing, especially with your kind of jumping in first and you're unfamiliar with what it looks like. [00:21:09] But yeah, start thinking about kind of what model you think works best for your school, work with your school, with your school district. [00:21:17] Sometimes districts like to roll out one model for all the schools or one model for elementary, one for high school and for middle. [00:21:24] So kind of the sooner you can get into those conversations, the planning begins, the better. [00:21:30] So then you can be prepared for for if this is going to happen district wide or if you're going to be a pilot school or however that's going to work. [00:21:37] Yeah. [00:21:37] And then and then just be thinking about equipment. [00:21:39] We'll have some do some. [00:21:41] We've got some federal funding for equipment grants this upcoming school year. [00:21:45] So actually three point two dollars million in grants for equipment for this upcoming school year and then also some some grants for summer programs. [00:21:54] So there are grants and able through OSPI United Way and other partners, Kaiser Permanente folks have grants available for equipment. [00:22:04] So, yeah, I would say check it out and then and then don't let don't let the barrier stand in your way if you run into a roadblock. [00:22:11] Oh, we can't get the equipment. [00:22:13] Please reach out. [00:22:14] There's there's ways to make that happen. [00:22:15] Or if you're if you run into some other issue that you think that this is a unique issue, I can almost guarantee you that another school has tried it probably two years ago, probably with the help of the United Way. [00:22:27] And that's overcome it already. [00:22:29] And they're happy to share their tips and tricks. Nelly Evans [00:22:32] Yeah, that's a great point, I would love to emphasize that you don't have to do this alone and you. [00:22:37] Are not in. [00:22:37] Competition with anyone. [00:22:40] This is messaging I use quite often the school nutrition folks steal each other's ideas. [00:22:44] You're not competing, so it only increases and the quality of meals everywhere and participation everywhere if you use the best practices that already exist. [00:22:56] Michael touched on so many great decision points. [00:23:00] Partnering with school nutrition is essential to decide on that model that works best for you as far as equipment. [00:23:06] I've seen a lot of. [00:23:07] Amazing repurposing of equipment. [00:23:10] And so while. [00:23:12] The idea of purchasing and storing a lot of new equipment might be a little scary, anything with wheels can work. [00:23:19] For a grab and go model or. [00:23:20] Transporting meals to classrooms. [00:23:22] I've seen old laptop carts be transformed into two beautiful kiosks. [00:23:27] As long as you can put those unities meals on top, it works great in condiment carts be used, which which seems funny, but it works as well. [00:23:36] Anything with wheels is is really a great idea. [00:23:40] But I think the other nitty gritty piece that principals should really think about is the influence they can have on their school. [00:23:47] So, yes, absolutely. [00:23:49] Listen to the teachers and the concerns that they have. [00:23:53] But keeping that North Star in mind that we're dealing with a lot of potentially very hungry students that have a lot of learning loss due to the pandemic that they're working to recover on mental health issues, struggles at home. [00:24:07] That is the least we can do as educators in schools all together is make sure that our students have that morning meal and are ready to learn messaging that repeatedly to potentially skeptical stakeholders is a really great step to take. [00:24:25] And principals really can be those catalysts to continue that messaging, doing that influence work in schools. [00:24:32] One last thing I would mention is eating breakfast in the classroom doesn't have to take away from instructional time. [00:24:39] In fact, it is permitted to be part of instructional time. [00:24:43] We would encourage heavily that principals work with teachers, maybe provide them with some examples, but then offer them some ownership to design what that time might look like. [00:24:54] Obviously, with covid, we want to maybe reduce student conversation. [00:24:57] So we always come recommending playing an audio book or a podcast or music so that you keep your voices down and give students that time to eat. [00:25:07] But outside of covid times, there was a lot of sharing of stories reading things like that. [00:25:12] McCole I don't know if you have any other instructional time notes to share with the principals listening, and. Mikhail Cherniske [00:25:18] I think I was great. [00:25:19] Yeah, it's just this is if you're maybe you thought about breakfast up to the bell five or six years ago and at the time then it would it did not count as instructional time. [00:25:29] So you did have to factor that in. [00:25:30] You had to add time to the beginning of the end of the day. [00:25:33] And then the Washington state legislature, when they passed the big breakfast after the bell law, made that change. [00:25:38] So now it does count as instructional time as long as students are doing some type of educational activity while they eat their breakfast. [00:25:45] So that could be taking attendance. [00:25:48] That could be students just having, you know, five minutes, ten minutes to finish up their homework, especially for high schoolers. [00:25:55] I'm sure they would. [00:25:55] All of that or or. [00:25:59] Yeah. [00:25:59] And then in elementary school, we've seen a fun circle time or time where students can really get to know their teachers and vice versa. [00:26:09] So it could be just listening to an audiobook. [00:26:12] So it does count as instructional time as long as the students are doing some type of educational activity. [00:26:16] And that can include social emotional work. [00:26:18] That doesn't have to be strictly homework or or something like that. Roz Thompson [00:26:22] Yeah. [00:26:22] Oh, my gosh. [00:26:23] You guys have a wealth of ideas and information and I want to make sure we we leave with contact information. [00:26:28] But one other question I'm just curious about is what we talked a lot about breakfast, but what else generally, from your perspective, can principals do to help with hunger, student hunger in general? [00:26:40] Because we know that that is real true for students and their families. Nelly Evans [00:26:45] Absolutely, if first off, if any of the principals listening in or like we already do this and we already have amazing participation, please reach out to us. [00:26:55] We love expanding our network of cheerleaders and champions. [00:27:00] It is so great to have partners in the field that we can then refer other principals to. [00:27:05] We like connecting those peer to peer conversations. [00:27:08] They can always help. [00:27:10] You share those best practices and other mistakes and lessons learned, but there is so much more work to be done and breakfast is only part of the work that I do and that McConnell does. [00:27:24] So we are more than happy to talk through other opportunities, such as universal meals outside of a pandemic. [00:27:31] One of our big pushes this past spring was getting more schools just to listen and learn about the community eligibility provision, which is an option for eligible schools to allow universal meals to all students. [00:27:45] So that, again, is breakfast and lunch for this year. [00:27:49] We've seen some incredible increases in eligibility for this program. [00:27:53] So getting schools to opt in the cap this year so that even after the pandemic, they can continue to offer meals at no cost. [00:28:01] Another part of our work is to expand families with school age children's access to Washington. [00:28:08] Same for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and then also working on ways to potentially innovatively partner with other organizations on student and family access to fresh produce, whether that's through WEC or the SNAP Match program, partnering with health care organizations, really working hard to improve the purchasing power of families so that they can afford more nutritious meals at home, all while promoting school meals so that they could then have more money to spend outside of their normal budget that they would spend on child school meals. [00:28:48] That lots, lots to think about. [00:28:50] But we are all ears and always excited to engage with, with principals really thinking about hunger in their schools. Roz Thompson [00:28:57] Fantastic. [00:28:57] Well, who should principals contact right here at the end if they're like, oh my gosh, this is so inspiring this I've got to be doing more of this. [00:29:05] Who should they contact? Mikhail Cherniske [00:29:07] I think no one would be. [00:29:09] Make sure you're working with your school, with your district nutrition director. [00:29:13] So check in with with that department in your district and just say, you know, they might be having the same ideas in the same conversation. [00:29:20] So it's good to make sure that you're linked up with them and then know I think you've got some great kind of information there. [00:29:26] You're always welcome to shoot me an email, if that would be helpful. [00:29:31] It's Mikael Chinaski, K1 to us, and I'm sure it be put up by the screen by the lovely folks here. Roz Thompson [00:29:39] Yes, we'll put it on the screen for sure. [00:29:41] Yeah. Nelly Evans [00:29:42] Yeah. [00:29:42] And United Way of King County. [00:29:44] Again, we work statewide on this work. [00:29:46] We have an entire team ready to support principals, school nutrition directors, other school staff who might be listening and being like, yes, I work with hungry students all the time. [00:29:55] What can I do as a school social worker? [00:29:58] We have a whole team ready to work with you all. [00:30:01] The easiest way to get in touch with us is emailing school breakfast at UW. [00:30:05] Craig, we will have a website up and running by the time that this airs with beautiful resources webinar recordings. [00:30:14] If you want to get more information out of we've been talking about breakfast and see all spring. [00:30:20] We have so much information to share with you all, but we're really just honored to be in this space with you and with these amazing principals and educators listening in. Roz Thompson [00:30:28] Well, I can't thank you guys enough for coming to share your the amazing, literally amazing amount of information you have. [00:30:37] And I know we didn't have time to cover probably everything that is out there, but we will definitely put all of your contact information on the website, all of that out for our principals. [00:30:47] And I just thank you. [00:30:50] We know that this is really an instrumental part of helping kids succeed in school. [00:30:55] So thank you very much. [00:30:56] And we'll look forward to more on this.