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KENSINGTON, Kan. – Students at Thunder Ridge High School will get a second chance to start their day off right when classes resume this Fall.
They’ll benefit from a program that will provide a meal to those students who – for various reasons – aren’t able to get to school in time to take part in the federally funded breakfast program offered at the school.
“Second Chance Breakfast is an optional school nutrition program that schools can implement to better meet the needs of their students,” said Janelle VanKooten, a regional specialist for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (known as SNAP-Ed) in northwest Kansas.
She said Thunder Ridge High School’s Second Chance Breakfast is unique because it is centered around locally sourced foods, “whether it be from the local grocery store, local beef producers, or other community donations.”
“The focus is on supporting the local food environment while working to improve the overall heatlh of our students,” VanKooten said.
School officials contacted VanKooten last spring to ask for help in writing a grant to address concerns about nutrition insecurity among some students. VanKooten was able to acquire funds through Kansas State University’s Local Food Systems Program to hire a food fellow who worked on putting the program in place this summer.
“It was becoming more and more apparent that we had unmet nutritional needs within our school district, and among our students,” said Brooke McDowell, a high school teacher, who helped to establish the program before retiring in May.
McDowell noted that nearly 50% of students in the school district qualify for free or reduced lunch programs, as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. Many of those same students – from preschool through high school -- benefit from the School Breakfast Program, a federally assisted meal program available in more than 1,500 public and private schools and residential care facilities in Kansas.
School districts in Kansas are required by state statute to offer the School Breakfast Program in each public school building under the jurisdiction of the district’s Board of Education.
“For various reasons, the breakfast program at Thunder Ridge and other Kansas schools has a low participation rate,” VanKooten said. “The Second Chance Breakfast program gives students a chance to have breakfast after school has started, as opposed to before school starts.”
According to information from the Kansas Department of Education, the Second Chance Breakfast is typically most effective in secondary schools. Thunder Ridge High School, VanKooten said, will offer a second breakfast between first and second class periods.
“It is often difficult for students to get to school early enough to go to the grade school cafeteria in Kensington for breakfast prior to school starting, so many of them begin the school day without breakfast,” she said. “The Second Chance Breakfast will allow the school to serve more students and ensure they have the nutrition to get through the school day and extracurricular activities that may follow.”
Thunder Ridge’s Second Chance Breakfast will be launched during the Back to School Bash on Aug. 25, as will the Horns up for Nutrition initiative, a play on the school’s Longhorn mascot. McDowell said the event also opens up opportunities for the larger community to become involved, whether it be by providing cash donations, or by supporting the local food pantry.
“The Thunder Ridge Community has a great basis of support for lifting each other up,” McDowell said. She added that Kensington Locker has supported the school’s lunch program; school officials hope to find ways for others in the community to provide food or other donations.
Kansas State University’s local food fellows program was launched in 2023 through the Kansas Local Food Systems Program, which was established in late 2022 by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program aims to support and enhance local food systems in the state.
“The work that our food fellows are doing all over Kansas is bringing awareness to the opportunities that their local food system has for their communities,” said program coordinator Amanda Lindahl.
Lindahl said K-State’s program has hired 16 food fellows for Kansas so far, each dedicating 320 hours to local communities. Most of those projects are nearing completion this summer.
“They’re working on unique projects, connecting with new partners and providing time and expertise to their host organizations,” she said. “For many of our partner organizations and businesses that have hosted fellows, they just haven’t had the capacity to do all of the work that they want to do, so this fellowship fills their needs. That’s impactful for Kansas communities.”
That sure seems to be true in Kensington, where a new energy around the beginning of the school year is taking shape.
“We are improving the nutrition security of the students, which we know can have an array of potential public health benefits, as well as improved performance in school,” VanKooten said.
Lindahl said applications for the 2025 Kansas Local Food Fellowships are now being taken through Sept. 30. Successful applicants will be paid to work on a local food system project, determined by the community or organization that receives the fellowship. More information and an application form is available online.
FOR PRINT PUBLICATIONS: Links used in this story
Kansas Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed), https://www.k-state.edu/ks-snaped
Kansas State University’s Local Foods Program, https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/kansaslocalfoods
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, https://www.fns.usda.gov
School Breakfast Program (USDA-FNS), https://www.fns.usda.gov/sbp/school-breakfast-program
Kansas Local Food Fellows, accomplishments, https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/kansaslocalfoods/get-involved/fellows/current-fellows.html
Kansas Local Food Fellows (application form), https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/kansaslocalfoods/get-involved/fellows/
