Roosevelt School District in Phoenix tests program to offer dinner to students

PHOENIX - A Valley school district is testing a pilot program that allows kids to get dinner at school.

C.O. Greenfield Elementary School in the Roosevelt School District, like many schools, already offered breakfast and lunch. 

The addition of dinner now means that some kids get all three meals at school.

“It makes sense because they are here late for academic and after school programs,” said district spokesman Joseph Ortiz.. “Sometimes the most nutritious food kids get is at school.”

Roosevelt is a Title I district that primarily serves low-income families.

Greenfield principal Stuart Starkey sees the need firsthand.

“There are kids who say they have a headache or aren’t feeling well and when we talk to them we sometimes learn what is going on at home,” he said.

He told ABC15 that he and other staff often work with food banks to help get food to families who otherwise would go without.

The dinner program offers some comfort knowing at least the kids are getting some of their meals.  

The program only runs Monday through Thursdays, and Starkey admits he worries about the kids during the weekends and breaks.

The meals are possible through a program through the USDA. 

The district is looking at the program and whether to expand it to other schools.