For the 27,000 students on free and reduced lunch at schools in McLennan County, finding balanced meals throughout the summer can prove challenging.

The word addiction brings to mind images of people popping prescription pills, injecting, inhaling or smoking dangerous substances. Most people don’t realize an addiction can be just as dangerous with a seemingly innocuous substance vital to a person’s survival: food.

The lights burn bright as members of the crowd talk among themselves, a dull drone humming throughout the room. Jennifer Bell, a 22-year-old University of Texas student and singer, takes the stage at a local coffee shop, centering herself before performing her newest work.

Two men leave after sitting and talking over a cup of the downtown blend and the plantation blend — dressed ready for work. They are headed in for the 9-to-5 day.

If you find yourself passing out cupcakes to friends and only getting silence in return, you might have used salted butter.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus retreated into the wilderness in order to fast for 40 days. For Muslims, fasting is one of five pillars serving as a foundation of their faith.

Students who eat kosher can expect trouble in finding kosher meat markets or dining areas in small cities such as Waco.

It’s just before 5:30 p.m. As volunteers prepare food for serving, a line of men, women and children form outside the door. The people in the line outside are carrying handbags and backpacks, or they are hiding empty hands in their pockets.

For some people in Waco, food is not an easy thing to find. The United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service defines food insecurity as a reduction in the quality, availability or desirability of food or a disruption in eating patterns and reduced food intake.

As Americans wage war on obesity, a restaurant chain that challenges its customers to “eat fresh” has become the largest food chain in the world.

Seventeen miles north of Baylor, in West, is a little piece of old-world Europe. Czech Stop, a combination bakery and deli, provides travelers and Central Texas residents alike with authentic Czech kolaches, sandwiches and sweets. Czech Stop is highly successful, serving close to 600 customers on busy days, but things were not always so good.

Food to an athlete is essentially the fuel necessary for peak performance. When it comes to the Baylor men’s tennis team, food is vital to performing at the highest level and quickly recovering. The routine is different for many athletes but the goal is the same —­ load up on food to provide the body with enough energy to last the body through a possibly grueling three-hour marathon match.

Peanuts, popcorn, hot dogs, cotton candy, nachos all mixed together with … home runs, stolen bases and double plays. Sounds like a match made in heaven. For years, that type of food and a baseball game have gone together perfectly. Baylor Ballpark, however, has added a new dimension to the ballpark experience by offering a greater assortment of food.

Few things define Waco as much as Dr Pepper does. It has been a staple in Waco since its creation where the drink was created in the 1880s.

Common Grounds, located on Eighth Street in Waco, is known for its dizzying selection of specialty drinks. Plain black coffee isn’t one of them.

While Baylor students waste countless dining hall meals, Waco families go to bed hungry.

It’s hard to believe, but it used to be the norm for American families to sit down and eat a home-cooked meal every night. This lifestyle, prominent in the 1950s and ‘60s, seems to have disappeared over the past decades, but it may be making a comeback.

Busy college schedules mean that eating sometimes comes secondary to studying or other activities.

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Students enrolled in the culinary arts program at Texas State Technical College are skilled. Need proof? One meal at the school’s restaurant will have your taste buds convinced.

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Three finalists for the Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching will visit Baylor this fall, each giving two lectures in their respective departments as well as their official Cherry Award lecture.

Two candidates running to represent District 4 in the Waco City Council elections discussed economic development and education Monday in a forum hosted at the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce building.

In celebration of Earth Week, Baylor sustainability has dedicated the first three days of this week to educating the university about leading a sustainable life.

A Baylor senior has earned a highly coveted position working for the French Ministry of Education as part of the Teaching Assistant Program in France.

One of the most highly anticipated games of the year is available today – despite the best efforts of gamers to have it released earlier by playing an alternate reality game over the weekend.

Baylor Theatre brings adventure, imagination and drama to the stage in a retelling of Homer’s “The Odyssey,” debuting at 7:30 p.m. today in the Mabee Theater.

With the popularity of Zumba exercise classes, Baylor Fitness hoped to attract many faculty, students and others from the Waco community to participate in Zumba exercise and raise money for Japan at the same time.

Baseball drops Battle of the Brazos series Baylor baseball came one run short of regaining traction last weekend in the…