Tinicum, PA, March 6, 2019 – Senator Tim Kearney was a guest of the Tinicum School this morning, standing alongside Interboro School District Superintendent Bernadette Reiley, Interboro Educators Association President Judith Tilles, Representative Dave Delloso, Tinicum School President Tim Fanning, and representatives from PSEA, Philabundance, and Feeding PA for an event called “Hear the Pennsylvania Crunch!” in honor of National School Breakfast Week. Senator Kearney’s remarks were made to a school cafeteria filled with students, teachers, and support staff.
“We’re here today because we all care about our children and we want to do everything we can to ensure that they achieve their full potential. And we’ve seen it proven time and time again that starting the day at school with a healthy, nutritious breakfast prepares students for the day ahead, leading to improved school performance, fewer nurse visits, and even a lower probability of childhood obesity,” said Senator Kearney. “With some surveys indicating that up to 62% of children come to school hungry, we’re talking about an issue that has very significant, potentially lasting effects. If we can do something as simple as making sure schools can provide a healthy breakfast for each student, we can see benefits in their grades, health, test scores, and behavior. Who wouldn’t want that?”
Hear the Pennsylvania Crunch! was organized by Feeding Pennsylvania, in collaboration with eight member food banks, to spread the message that every child in Pennsylvania should have access to a healthy school breakfast. Feeding Pennsylvania, through a statewide network of Feeding America-affiliated food banks, serves nearly 2 million low-income individuals annually by distributing more than 161 million pounds of food throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
###Senator Tim Kearney is a longtime community leader in southeastern Pennsylvania, chairing the Swarthmore Borough Planning Commission for seven years and serving his second term as Mayor until his recent election to the Pennsylvania State Senate. Under Tim’s leadership, Swarthmore has become a leader in environmental protection and sustainability practices, fair and equitable policing practices, and LGBTQ equality. He’s proud of initiating an Aging in Place Taskforce to ensure the vitality of Swarthmore and its senior population. Tim is a member of the American Institute of Architects, Mayors for Peace, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Climate Mayors, Mayors for Solar Energy, Mayors Against LGBT Discrimination, We Are Still In – Climate Action, and Mayors for Solar Power. Senator Tim Kearney lives in Swarthmore Borough with his wife, Claudia. They have two grown children who both attended public schools in Delaware County. The 26th District includes a large part of Delaware County and parts of Chester County.