A new breakfast program began Monday, April 22nd at Steele Elementary in Galesburg. Serving breakfast is not a mandate for Galesburg schools. As a commitment to keep kids fed and ready to learn, Steele has taken away the stigma of choosing between breakfast and recess. “It’s really going to be a big part of our social/emotional learning – where kids are sitting and they are learning the appropriate conversation at a table,” said Principal Jennifer Graves. “Before, breakfast was a choice. So not everyone was taking the choice to go in and sit down and have breakfast. They’d have to choose between going outside and playing and eating breakfast – and this just gives everyone that chance. If you want to go eat breakfast – go ahead and do that – everyone else is doing it. It takes that stigma away from it.” Graves says there’s a variety of benefits for students having breakfast: studies show there’s less tardiness, fewer trips to the school nurse, better attention spans, and better test scores. Now all the students go to recess and then their meals are waiting for them as they return to the classroom. Provided by the State of Illinois, the well-balanced meals include fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and milk. Lombard Junior High implemented the idea a month ago. Steele Elementary has many meal-driven initiatives throughout the year which includes the United Way providing meals in the summer and Knox College’s Blessings in a Backpack.