Buckeye considering making changes to elementary school breakfast

YORK TWP. — Buckeye Schools is considering changing its breakfast services at the elementary school level to help make meals more nutritious for students. Food Service Supervisor Greg Beegle gave an update on breakfast in the district during the board of education meeting March 23. At breakfast from January 2025 to March 2026, about 39,100 meals were served at the elementary school, about 4,400 at the high school and around 1,700 at the junior high, he said. High school and junior high students have a traditional breakfast where students come into the cafeteria for hot food and have multiple choices for fruits and vegetables, Beegle said. Elementary school students have breakfast in the classroom with only cold food. "Quite a few schools are doing this, basically because they don't have any other options," he said. "They're in the same predicament, all the other schools, in finding bus drivers, finding (paraprofessionals), so that the only breakfast they can get them is a cold one." Cold breakfast selections are limited, and there have been the same options for a while, Beegle said. "I have to tell you that after doing the analysis of our breakfast menu, the added sugar is quite high," he said. "Some of the items were 22 percent, 44 percent. I can't stand here in front of you to tell you that's the best we can do." Beegle suggested the district move to offering a traditional breakfast for elementary school students, which could feature more protein. He thinks switching to a traditional breakfast will cause participation to go up at the elementary school. "I think we should take a look at that," he said. "The reason being, No. 1, is nutrition. No. 2, if we get them into the cafeteria, we can offer them fresh fruits. We can monitor and make sure all our meals are being captured since right now, we're using handwritten tallies." Superintendent Jeff Stanton said the district knows its students are eating in the classrooms, but it is also aware that things need to change. "We've known that the sugar content was something we were going to have to address," he said. "We have got to logistically figure out how we can feed our kids in the cafeteria space. It does come down a lot to supervision and having the right personnel available to supervise kids in the cafeteria, where at the secondary level that's not as big of a concern." Breakfast was first offered in the district last year, and it costs $2. Beegle said it is up to the district whether prices should be increased. "It's your choice. We don't have to," he said. "We're in line, kind of. Again, I don't want to put more financial strain, but with the cost of food, a quarter would help a little. That's something we can address before next school year." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.