Nothing kick starts the mind for a day of reading, writing and arithmetic better than bowl of cereal, a plate of warm pancakes or a cup of pure fruit juice.

Cafeteria employees with the Dowagiac Union Schools are again offering students a chance to start their days off right with a healthy, filling breakfast, all without paying a single cent.

The district is once again offering free breakfast service to students each of its six buildings, with service taking place from 7 to 7:30 a.m. at the high school and middle school, and between 8:15/8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the elementary schools, depending on when buses arrive.

Dishes include everything from several types of cold cereal, yogurt and breakfast bars to hot dishes such as waffles and sausage and cinnamon rolls. Students are also served a daily selection of fresh fruit, as well as 100 percent fruit juice.

“The items we serve are not any different from what parents typically feed their children before sending them off to school,” said Deb Cahill, Dowagiac’s director food services.

Children are served much in the same way as they are during lunch hour, lining up in one of the lines to receive their meal and sitting down at one of the tables with classmates to eat.

While the district’s cafeterias have served breakfast to students for years now, last year administrators decided to offer the meals free of charge, to every student — regardless of whether they are enrolled in free or reduced price lunches or not.

The change saw the number of children eating breakfast at school double, with around 30 percent of students across the district taking advantage of the program by the end of last school year, Cahill said.

“I was happy with that figure, and we want to that number even higher this year,” Cahill said. “We want all our kids to eat breakfast, and if parents can save a few dollars in the process then that is even better.”