No One Eats Alone at BCPS

As local high school students poured into the lunchroom on Friday, conversation starter cards greeted them at each table, inviting kids to get friendly.

“Which three people, past or present, would you invite to have lunch?” one asked.

“Would you rather spend time outdoors or indoors and why?” another questioned.

The cards were part of No One Eats Alone (NOEA) Day, an initiative launched by Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit organization founded and led by family members of the students murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.

Burke County Public Schools (BCPS) spotlights NOEA across the district in February, spreading awareness through the week and dedicating a day — Feb. 13, this year — to activities that spread emotional awareness and empathy to students.

“A core part of school counseling is helping students feel safe, connected, and valued,” said Patton High counselor Athena Johnson. “Social isolation is a major risk factor for anxiety, depression, and disengagement, and No One Eats Alone Day directly targets that by creating intentional opportunities for connection.”

From art projects to interactive lessons, the Sandy Hook Promise provides suggestions, conversation starters, and even “Find a Friend Who…” BINGO cards, which contain boxes prompting students to collect the signature of a classmate who “likes winter,” “likes to sing,” or “has a pet.”

Sandy Hook Promise also provides slideshows for educators to lead students through emotional education, detailing scenarios and sparking discussion of what emotions, connection, and social isolation look and sound like in specific contexts.

As for BCPS high schools, several are taking the talk-to-someone-new route in getting kids out of their comfort zone.

“Lunch can be one of the most socially challenging and emotionally loaded parts of our students’ day,” Johnson said. “Encouraging students to sit with someone new and strike up a conversation helps kids who are often alone feel seen and included, even if it is just for one day.”

Dr. Dillon Sain, director of Student and Family Services for BCPS, explained that each secondary school has a Kind Club, which often works in conjunction with the SAVE (Students Against Violence Everywhere) Clubs to push NOEA ideas year-round.

“These students do things proactively to be inclusive,” Sain said. “You may see kids passing out candy to kids in the mornings (and) speaking to people they don’t normally know.”

He said club kids often sit with other students who routinely eat alone or join them in the hallway to make them feel welcome.

“Kids who tend to struggle, oftentimes, are those kids who are loners,” Sain said. “We try to circle them up, surround them with friendship and, you know, a friendly face.”