Buerkle Middle School will now offer free breakfast for all students for the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year following unanimous approval by the Mehlville School District Board of Education at its Feb. 20 meeting. 

The decision to implement the Universal Free Breakfast Program (UFBP) at Buerkle came to be as 52% of Buerkle students already currently qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Additionally, several families miss qualifying for support by a slim margin. 

On average, Buerkle provides 75 breakfasts per day.

“As you guys all know, the data shows that if a kid has a full belly,  they learn better, they test better, they behave better,” Katie Gegg, director of school food and nutrition services, said.

It should also be noted that three other schools in the Mehlville School District – Beasley, Bierbaum and Forder elementary schools – already currently offer UFSB. They offer an average of 150, 275 and 185 breakfasts per day, respectively.

Before a vote to implement the program at Buerkle was taken, discussion turned to the state legislature as there have been a few bills trying to push UFSB statewide.

“I was actually in Jeff(erson) City a few weeks ago. I had a lot of good conversations with some of our legislators (from) our area,” Gegg said. “They see the importance of feeding kids, and hopefully we get a push in Missouri.”