Last year I attended a panel of original Black Panther Party members.  They were recalling some of their most effective accomplisments back in the 1970's.  I left with  an understanding of how important their breakfast program was in particular, and how impactful it could be today.  That program was developed in response to a statistic that had been recently released showing that if a young student did not eat a fully nutritional breakfast, he or she would be 60-70% less likely to pass their classes than those who did.  After the first programs were set up, not only did graduation rates go up but  tardiness decreased,  and the number of students who repeated grades went down.  Most importantly however, it brought together communities of mixed political and religious beliefs under one goal, which was to feed any young student breakfast who asked for it.

In the towns and villages in the Hamptons there is of course legendary wealth,  but we must remember that there are also significant populations of struggling, hard-working families:  some the sons and daughters of generations of fishermen and farmers, some drawn from afar with the prosects of jobs and a better life for their children, some the descendants of our indigenous peoples.  The aim of the breakfast program is to give nourishment and support to these and all of our communities.

All of the money raised here will go towards providing free breakfast for kids at the East Hampton Middle School through Babette's Restaurant.  We will be working with professional chefs to ensure a healthy and tasty breakfast. It is my hope that the program will eventually expand from 2 to 5 days a week,  and eventually be implemented in all our public grade schools and middle schools on the East End.

Please chip in.  No contribution is too small.

Thanks.

Your Breakfast Boi



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Breakfast_for_Children

http://www.babettesrestaurant.com