It’s a typical morning at Summerland Middle School. The school is bustling with kids coming in and out, laughing, playing but this morning the kids are enjoying a pancake breakfast.  You can immediately smell the pancakes on the griddle when you walk-in, it’s a warm and familiar smell. Breakfast is served daily in the school’s common area and all children are invited to eat before class.

The menu changes each day but Pancake Day is by far the most popular, next to French Toast Day, said Terry McCartan, the breakfast program coordinator.  Summerland Middle School was the recipient of a grant from the Penny Lane Community Legacy Fund.  The donors have set up a fund where they designate their funds each year.  The Penny Lane Community Legacy Fund is one of the Community Foundation’s largest donor-advised funds and it has supported many projects over the past four years.

McCartan said that one of the best part of seeing the kids eating is that there are no cell phones out, just kids sitting, eating and talking and not on their phones. “We don’t have a formal policy here but the kids just naturally sit, talk and eat, which is amazing to see,” added McCartan.

The breakfast program is run by parent volunteers who take turns cooking and serving the food to the children and is largely supported by the local grocery stores, Nesters and IGA.  The money from the grant they received will be used to purchase food for the breakfast program to run all school year.