CEDAR RAPIDS - When you ask teachers, they'll tell you to get good results in class, you need to start with students' stomachs.

"Kids who don't eat breakfast come in with tears, or they come in grumpy and I have to ask them did you sleep? They nod. Did you eat? No? I then know right away we need to go to the snack drawer and get a snack," said 3rd grade teacher Amy Russel.

At Kenwood Elementary in Cedar Rapids, the students not only get a breakfast and lunch, but thanks to a federal grant, they also get a special snack of fresh fruits or veggies every day.

"It came to me and I had about two weeks to do this, and I thought well, I'm going to give this a try," said Kenwood Principal Tim Cronin.

Not every school has a special snack program, meaning some kids might get hungry during the day, especially if they aren't eating well at home.

"It's hard to do anything, your job, my job, any body's job when you're hungry all the time," said Cronin.

In the next few weeks, Operation Backpack with the help of ABC and Oprah's Big Give will start at one of the schools in Cedar Rapids. It'll send certain kids home with a backpack full of food to help keep them going when they're away from school.

Because the proof is there, food helps.

"Certainly, they're more focused," said Russell.

Although Operation Backpack is getting started with funding from Oprah's Operation Big Give and ABC, it will need more help.

Too see how you can be a part of this project go to KCRG.com and look for Operation Backpack on the home page.