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Free After-School Meals Offer Healthier Foods To Noble Students

 Noble Network received a $2,800 grant for its after-school meal plan.
Noble Network received a $2,800 grant for its after-school meal plan.
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ENGLEWOOD — Students at Johnson College Prep School in Englewood will enjoy healthier meals such as wraps, fresh salads and fruits thanks to a grant to support their new after-school meal program.

The $2,800 grant was awarded to Noble Network of Charter Schools from the Share Our Strength Illinois campaign called “No Kid Hungry."

This was the first food service-related grant for the network, which has 18 campuses serving12,000 students. The grant will also fund new kitchen equipment to store and prepare healthier meals.

A majority of the students are faced with less nutritious meal options once they leave school, said Monica Bromber, director of dining services at Noble.

So the program gives the students meals they eat at the end of the school day, including glazed chicken and cole slaw.

“For many of our students this really is the best meal that they will get,” she said.

In the past, their contracted food service provider, Chartwells, provided healthy snack packs that contain fruits and granola bars. The after-school meal program is one it's excited to introduce in the Noble Network, said Robbie Dickson, resident district manager of the Elmhurst-based Chartwells.

“The program is really a great,” he said. “It offers salads, wraps, fresh fruit, milk and veggies. They'll get a much broader range of fresh produce in the evening time when they may be going home and exposed to less than healthy items.”