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The Southwestern Pennsylvania Food Security Partnership, an initiative of Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, recently presented Clairton City School District with a Crystal Apple Award. The ceremony took place during the regularly scheduled school board meeting at 7 p.m. in the district’s business office.

Pictured are Board of Directors President Mr. Richard Livingston, Board Member Kathy Santoline, Chris West, Superintendent Dr. Ginny Hunt, and Erika Fricke.

The Crystal Apple Award recognizes the outstanding work of promoting child nutrition that school districts did in the 2014-15 school year. “School breakfast and lunch programs are extremely important to kids. According to the Food Research and Action Center, school breakfast has been shown to improve test scores, concentration, memory and behavior,” said Chris West, child nutrition outreach coordinator for Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. “This research is why we are highlighting the wonderful work Clairton City Area School District is doing to increase the number of children participating in meal programs.”

The Clairton City School District has implemented several initiatives to combat hunger in its communities and provides breakfast, lunch and Grab ‘n Go options to all students at no cost. Clairton participates in many health awareness programs, such as the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, Adagio Power UP and Live Well Allegheny. In the summer, the district operates a meal program and sent home information home about two initiatives: Summer Food and Produce to People.

The district also encourages students to eat breakfast daily, which has caused the number of students participating in the meal program to significantly increase. “There are more than 45,000 children in Allegheny County alone who are food insecure, meaning at some point in the past year they have been unsure about where their next meal was coming from,” said Patrick Dowd, executive director at Allies for Children.

“Allies for Children is working to change that. We’re working with the Southwestern Pennsylvania Food Security Partnership to look at ways to increase student participation in meal programs. Alternative service models of breakfast can greatly increase participation, such as Grab n Go,

Breakfast in the Classroom, or Breakfast After 1st Period.”

In addition to Claiton City, six other school districts, Aliquippa, Central Greene, Greater Johnstown, Laurel Highlands, McKeesport and New Castle, will receive the Crystal Apple Award for work addressing childhood hunger.

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