There’s a Spanish Proverb that says “the belly rules the mind.” This statement is a true parallel about students coming to school hungry and the impact it has on their learning capacity. Having experienced this paradigm in high school, sophomore Malique Morgan decided to advocate for extended breakfast hours by meeting with the head principal Dr. April Adams the last week before Thanksgiving break.

“I have friends that come to school to eat that are hungry,” Morgan said. “I went to talk to Dr. Adams and got set up with the cafeteria manager.”

Taking the initiative paid off when breakfast hours were officially extended from the beginning of 1st hour into 2nd hour on Dec. 12. Due to the lack of publicity, not many students have seized the opportunity.

“We were going to do a second-chance breakfast when we used to have the kiosk down the hall, but with the way the tables are set up, there’s no room down there,” cafeteria manager Judy Kerekes said. “Thank God we had Malique who said, ‘Let’s just extend breakfast to 9:00.’”

Morgan’s desire to extend the breakfast hours was one that Adams fully supported.

“I love that the idea came from a student that was worried about other students who might be coming in late and are still hungry,” Adams said. “I had no idea that there were kids missing the window for breakfast. Making sure kids aren’t hungry is a huge passion point for me.”

Although the food necessary for students has now increased with the breakfast hours, the school hasn’t faced any cost deficits or been affected by the recent food shortage in the Kansas City area.

“Our ladies in the cafeteria are already on staff so all it does is shift duties around a little bit,” Adams said.

Students looking to grab breakfast during the extended hours can access it the same way as they would at lunch.

“I believe that nobody should be hungry,” Adams said. “It’s really important when you come to school you have the nutrition necessary so that your brain can activate and you can be a good learner.”

According to No Kid Hungry, there are 13 million children who are food insecure in the U.S. Around 15.8% of Missouri’s nearly six million residents help account for that number, based on a study by the University of Missouri. Given this information, it appears that this program can only help to benefit students in the Liberty area.