{"id":15943,"date":"2023-09-14T16:54:03","date_gmt":"2023-09-14T16:54:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/?p=15943"},"modified":"2025-04-30T17:06:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T17:06:57","slug":"spotlight-hunger-heroes-morongousd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/spotlight-hunger-heroes-morongousd\/","title":{"rendered":"Partner Spotlight: Hunger Heroes Help Children at Morongo USD Start the School Year with the Most Important School Supply"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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All across America, kids are headed back to school. But millions of children in the United States are living with hunger. For these children, food is the most important school supply.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

In California, 1 in 7 kids is facing hunger amidst the challenging hardships of the last several years. But there are stories of hope. Among them are the Hunger Heroes who have worked tirelessly to ensure kids and teens in California and throughout the country\u00a0 get the healthy food they need to thrive in and out of the classroom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

No Kid Hungry recognizes and celebrates the unsung Hunger Heroes who are making significant contributions in the fight to end child hunger in our communities across California. This includes Hunger Heroes who are helping students start the day with a healthy breakfast in San Bernardino County.<\/span><\/p>

It Takes a Village<\/b><\/h2>

\"\"For children and families in the Morongo Unified School District (MUSD) \u2014 a large, rural community encompassing 75 square miles in the Mojave High Desert area in San Bernardino County \u2014 one of the biggest barriers to obtaining meals is the lack of or limited access to transportation.<\/span><\/p>

School leaders are working hand-in-hand with Janet Barth, SNS, director of nutritional services and her team of 87 school nutrition professionals to ensure the most important school supply is available to all students.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cWhen you\u2019re hungry, you can\u2019t think, and our job here is to care for our students and enable them to have the nutrition they need to go on and be successful,\u201d said Barth. <\/span><\/p>

The following Hunger Heroes exemplify the best in collaboration and drive to ensure over 8,600 students have the healthy food they need to learn and grow.
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Meet Sharon Flores, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services<\/b><\/h3>

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Formerly the Director of Child Nutrition Services at Rialto Unified School District, Assistant Superintendent Flores works to ensure resources are allocated in the best way possible to support the education of children in the community.<\/span><\/p>

When she was approached to implement breakfast in the classroom at MUSD schools, her answer was simple – YES!<\/span><\/p>

\u201cI have supported the breakfast in the classroom program for the past 25-plus years,\u201d said Flores. \u201cIt is especially important to have [it] here in MUSD due to the long bus rides and car rides it takes to get to school. Children don\u2019t always have time to eat breakfast or their families can\u2019t afford to feed their children breakfast. Having breakfast in the classroom assures that all students start the day with a nutritious meal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

The program has reduced the amount of students that are late to school and has decreased visits to the nurses office. It\u2019s a big win for both parents and students.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cI think the best experience is when you see all the smiling faces in the morning eating breakfast. I also know the relief for children whose families were not able to afford breakfast, knowing that they will get breakfast every day at school,\u201d said Flores.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Meet Sally Stevens, Yucca Mesa Elementary School Principal <\/b><\/h3>

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For Principal Sally Stevens, with over a decade of experience as an educator and two years as principal, it was a no-brainer to start breakfast in the classroom at Yucca Mesa Elementary in January 2023. Since its launch, the number of students eating breakfast grew from 26 percent to 79 percent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

According to Principal Stevens, breakfast in the classroom helps to provide consistent and safe access to food for her students. In addition to\u00a0 providing a tranquil start to the day for the students, they start the day with nutritious food and all-inclusive social emotional learning time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u201cStarting the day with full bellies and regulated emotions has brought about a familiarity that allows our students to start the day relaxed and ready to learn,\u201d said Stevens.\u201cWe have less nurse visits and less behavioral issues in the morning. Parents feel less stressed in the morning trying to get the kids ready for school as breakfast is provided and it is one less thing to worry about. Employees enjoy their time in the morning that they are allowed to eat and bond with their students. It makes a world of difference.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

At No Kid Hungry, we believe every single person has a strength to share, and together, we can ensure every kid is equipped to succeed and thrive in the new school year.<\/span><\/p>

As kids go back to school, join us in celebrating and thanking Hunger Heroes like Sally Stevens, Sharon Flores, Janet Barth, and all the teachers and school staff who feed and care for kids day in and day out. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Ways You Can Help:<\/b><\/h2>

\u2014 #ThankHungerHeroes: <\/span><\/b>We invite you to join No Kid Hungry to celebrate and thank school nutrition staff, teachers, and the many other school employees who feed and care for our kids. Add your note of thanks <\/span>HERE<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>

\u2014 <\/span>Donate<\/b><\/a>: <\/b>1 dollar can help provide 10 meals for kids in need. Your support will help us fund school meal programs all over California and the country and help us advocate for policies that will help kids get the meals they need.<\/span><\/p>

\u2014 <\/span>Speak up for kids:<\/b><\/a> 1 in 8 kids in the United States is affected by hunger. Tell your lawmaker to protect CalFresh\/SNAP and other federal nutrition programs that feed kids.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Last Reviewed: September 14, 2023<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All across America, kids are headed back to school. But millions of children in the United States are living with hunger. For these children, food is the most important school…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,49,52,84],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15943","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog","7":"category-hunger-hero","8":"category-school-breakfast","9":"category-storytelling"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPartner Spotlight: Hunger Heroes Help Children at Morongo USD Start the School Year with the Most Important School Supply - California<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/state.nokidhungry.org\/california\/spotlight-hunger-heroes-morongousd\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Partner Spotlight: Hunger Heroes Help Children at Morongo USD Start the School Year with the Most Important School Supply - California\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"All across America, kids are headed back to school. 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