In Petersburg, more and more students are relying on school food day after day.
That means all students in the district can eat breakfast and lunch — for free. Students are taking advantage.
“We participate in what they call the CEP program,” said Donna Johnson, Supervisor of School Nutrition for Petersburg City Public Schools.
Johnson works to make sure students don’t have to worry about where they’re getting their next meal, so they can focus on the task at hand.
“We feed their bellies and the teachers will feed their minds,” Johnson said.
8News was at Vernon Johns Junior High School as cafeteria workers welcomed the first big delivery of the school year. Box after box, the work never really ends.
Lunch menu planning starts the year before.