JEFFERSON TWP — Township resident Evan Quinn, who will begin his senior year at Knoch High School this fall, is a typical teenager.

That means, along with enjoying spending time with friends and engaging in extracurricular activities, he's usually running a bit behind most mornings.

“I normally wake up pretty late, because I'm an average teenage boy,” Evan said.

That usually translates to an empty stomach for Quinn as he leaves home every day.

“I definitely get breakfast at school,” he said.

Evan said he intentionally arrives at school a little early so he can eat breakfast in the cafeteria before the first bell. But for kids who don't make a point of making time for a morning meal, things don't always go so smoothly.

“For the people who don't get there early, it's hard,” Evan said.

Officials in the district are hoping that will change next school year, as they institute a program administrators hope will encourage students to grab a quick, hot and inexpensive breakfast — and even allow some elementary-level students to eat breakfast in the classroom.

Lesley Sidler, the assistant principal at the middle school and the district's food services coordinator, said the district received a $5,000 grant for each of its four buildings, $20,000 in total, from the state Department of Education's division of food and nutrition.

The purpose of the grant, Sidler said, is to increase participation in breakfast programs by 20 percent.

Sidler said she hopes to increase student achievement and attendance at South Butler by providing students with the fuel they need to excel during the school day.

The number of students who participate in the district's existing breakfast program are low, Sidler said, which she attributes to a lack of knowledge that the schools provide breakfast or the meal's importance to learning, or a lack of time for students to eat breakfast in the cafeteria before classes begin.

“We are just trying to make it more accessible to all students, and hopefully we will see more participation,” she said.

At the high school and middle school, students this fall will see a “grab 'n go” cart near the schools' entrances.

The cart will offer hot breakfast items and smoothies for the district's existing breakfast price of about $1.60 in the secondary schools. Breakfasts will be charged to each student's lunch account.

Students who receive free lunches will be offered the grab 'n go breakfasts for free, and those who receive reduced-cost lunches will pay 30 cents, Sidler said.

Students can eat their breakfasts in the hallway, classroom or cafeteria.

In the elementary schools, which include the intermediate school and primary center, a pilot program beginning in October will see breakfast served in several classrooms.

Sidler said the students will get a weekly menu, where they will decide what they want for breakfast each day. Choices will likely include fruit, breakfast bars and milk or juice.

Nutrition Inc., the school's food service provider, will educate the program's teachers, who will check off which students ate their breakfast each day.

“There will be a lot of training and professional development for (the teachers) in those classrooms,” Sidler said.

Elementary students will pay the usual $1.30 for their breakfast, which will be free for students who receive free lunches and 30 cents for students who get reduced-cost lunches.

The classrooms not chosen for the pilot program will continue to be offered breakfast in the cafeteria, Sidler said.

The PDE grants will pay for everything from garbage bags and paper products to seminars for elementary teachers whose classrooms will participate in the pilot program, Sidler said.

Evan likes the idea of being able to grab a quick breakfast on the go when he arrives at school.

“It sounds very convenient and efficient,” Evan said. “If you're hungry and a growing boy like me, then you'll definitely use it.”

He suspects that the program will go over easy at the high school, even among the most hard-boiled students.

“I hope it flourishes,” Evan said.

Sidler said the program will be rolled out on social media, on signs, via the parent-teacher organizations and by sending information to students' homes.