Gov. Steve Bullock sampled a breakfast cookie with Elrod Elementary School teacher Maggie Sherrill’s fourth-graders as part of Breakfast after the Bell, an initiative to fight childhood hunger throughout the state in partnership with No Kid Hungry Montana.

“There are tables of five of you,” Bullock said to the students. “At least one of every five kids don’t get the food they need.”

Elrod Elementary will pilot Breakfast after the Bell in several classrooms starting in January. The goal is to eventually serve breakfast in every classroom.

The purpose of serving breakfast after school starts is to increase participation. Currently, Elrod, like most schools, serves breakfast before school, which can hinder some students from participating.

“A lot of kids don’t get to school early enough to eat breakfast, so this has been a good thing,” Food Services Director Jenny Montague said during a phone interview Wednesday.

With more students nourished, the hope is that students will perform better academically and behaviorally according to Bullock who leads the initiative with wife, Lisa.

Elrod is slated to receive a Breakfast after the Bell grant to purchase equipment such as serving carts and coolers to get the program rolling in fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms, according to No Kid Hungry AmeriCorps member Jessica Ferretti, who works with Kalispell Public Schools Food Services.

Grant funding for No Kid Hungry Montana often comes from private donors and businesses such as First Interstate Bank, which presented a $10,000 check for the program Thursday. About 100 classrooms in Montana participate in Breakfast After the Bell, according to Bullock.

Last January, Hedges Elementary piloted the in-class breakfast program with support from a $5,000 Breakfast after the Bell grant used to purchase a refrigerator for the school. The initiative was met with success and was expanded to the entire school this year.

Breakfast participation is up from about 35 percent to roughly 90 percent at Hedges as a result of serving breakfast after school starts, according to Montague.

The food services department is compiling data to see if increased participation has impacted attendance and tardiness. Staff will also be surveyed to find out if students seem more alert or better behaved after eating breakfast.

“We’re just starting to recognize trends and keep track of them,” Montague said.

Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.