Starting in the fall of 2023, Lawrence high schools have begun offering second chance breakfast, an additional breakfast serving time for students. The district aims for students to perform better in academic settings by providing students with greater resources.

USD 497 Nutrition and Wellness Director Julie Henry references nutrition as one motive for this change. Henry knows it’s hard to focus and learn when hungry and hopes second chance will help alleviate this problem for students.  

“Research shows that students who eat breakfast do better academically and socially, so it makes sense to give high school kids another opportunity to get in some morning nutrition,“ Henry said.

This second chance serving time is available to students at 9:25 a.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays during extended class time as well as at 9:10 a.m. on Wednesdays. Second chance carts are placed strategically throughout the hallways to allow students for quick and easy access to the weekly-rotating menus’ individually packaged items.

“I enjoy [second chance breakfast] because I’m in class and I get hungry, and now I can just come up here and eat something,” junior Grayson Hagen said. 

Hagen points to convenience as the appeal for second chance breakfast.

While second chance breakfast can be a great quick source of added morning nutrition for students, it also can benefit students who don’t have sufficient resources in their home life. 

“If people don’t have the time or don’t have the food at home, it’s a good opportunity to get breakfast,” sophomore Henry Zell said.

While second chance breakfast was just introduced at the start of this school year, it’s already made a big impact on students’ morning nutrition. 

“Last year in August we served an average of 21 breakfasts per day at Free State. So far this year, we have averaged 128 breakfasts per day,” Henry said. “That is a huge increase.”