This week, Robert Mensch, principal of Liberty Elementary School, had the unique opportunity to speak on behalf of Cicero District 99 at the state level, as he was invited alongside representatives from the Greater Chicago Food Depository to speak in Springfield to the Illinois State Senate Education Appropriations Committee about the success of the Breakfast After the Bell program. 

On Wednesday, March 20 at the State Capitol, Mensch testified about the school’s experience with Breakfast After the Bell — a program launched in 2017 in partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository and Rise & Shine Illinois and No Kid Hungry campaigns in response to a 2012 recommendation of the Illinois Commission to End Hunger.

“The experience and success of having Liberty and District 99 participate in this program has been wonderful,” Mensch said, “and speaking to lawmakers was just a small part of a way to support other schools in Illinois having the opportunity to adopt the same model.”

As a result of the Breakfast After the Bell program, Liberty Elementary School is able to serve free breakfast to over 400 students each day. 

Rise & Shine Illinois works with schools to increase their participation in the National School Breakfast Program (NSBP) by using a Breakfast After the Bell model. The NSBP is federally funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and administered by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), and provides nutritionally balanced, free breakfasts to children. Through the NSBP, all Illinois schools are eligible for free, federally-funded breakfast. 

For more information about the food program, visit riseandshineillinois.org/breakfast-after-the-bell.