Government funding that helps provide free breakfasts and lunches in Wareham Public Schools may change in April with the Healthy Hungry-Free Kids Act up for consideration.

The program is made possible through the United States Department of Agriculture's National School Lunch Program and the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. It is only offered to communities in which at least 40 percent of the students enrolled are eligible for free school meals.

Wareham is at 47 percent. The act is up for consideration in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in April, and they're considering raising the bar to 60 percent.

Under the federal Community Eligibility Provision, which allows the district to provide free breakfast and lunch to students, the food service program in Wareham Public Schools is thriving.

The programs at Wareham schools are being streamlined and breakfasts moved in-class thanks to the efforts of Wareham Public Schools Food Service Director Rob Shaheen –but to keep improving and maintaining the service, Wareham needs a little help.

That's why Shaheen invited State Representative Susan Williams Gifford (R-Wareham) to tour the John W. Decas Elementary School and see the food service program herself on Thursday morning.

“I didn't know how involved it all was,” said Gifford.

Walking through classrooms and interacting with students having their breakfast at 8:30 a.m., Gifford was able to get a sense of the program and how she could help.

By seeing the process for herself, Gifford will be able to speak on behalf of the schools, hopefully advocating on Wareham's behalf.

“It would hurt the students in the program if we weren't in it anymore. And we can show that we can work with 47 percent and still be profitable,” said Shaheen.

Though Wareham doesn't get entirely reimbursed for the meals (it receives 77 percent reimbursement every month), the food service is still making profits by remaining income affordable.

“By just controlling food costs and the labor costs and keeping those in line, that's how we're about to able to be profitable,” said Shaheen. “It's kind of unusual because a lot of schools that are in the program are getting more reimbursement and are just breaking even.”

Shaheen collaborates and mentors other districts on how to do what he's been doing at Wareham for the past two years. Having worked in restaurants for 25 years, he said he's followed the restaurant model where food and labor are two things that can be controlled.

Some benefits of having breakfast in the classrooms include more student participation and less commotion in the hallways before classes, less time spent on breakfast, social time with friends in a comfortable setting, and learning starts right after breakfast is done, Shaheen explained.

“We're trying to take care of children, give them healthy things to eat, and teach them good habits," he said.