Breakfast has always been an important part of my family’s day. When my kids were little, breakfast time was a family event—we would often have that most important meal of the day together before my husband left for work. Once my kids were school-aged, breakfast became a whole lot harder. Gone were the days of gathering together before the start of the day. We were too busy scurrying about stuffing homework into backpacks and looking for that one shoe that always seemed to be lost. It took time and energy to get three kids on the bus each morning with all their projects, after school sports gear and the mittens, hats and boots that we need so often in Maine.
Luckily, our school system offers breakfast as part of their cafeteria program. It has been a life-saver—and a guilt saver—I’ve never had to feel badly that I didn’t have time to get food in the kids’ bellies before they walked out the door. And, my kids love school breakfast. The schools offer a variety of healthy and delicious meals and switch up the breakfast options often which means my kids don’t get bored.
Breakfast at school has been a special social time for my kids in primary and elementary school. They not only start their day off with a balanced meal but also have time with friends—which they don’t often get enough of during the day.
As my kids aged, Grab and Go breakfast options became available to them. This was perfect as my teen loves to grab something from the cafeteria quickly and then bring it with him to homeroom to eat as he studies with friends.
I was pleased to recently learn more about the Fuel Up to Play 60 program—an in-school health and wellness program launched by National Dairy Council and NFL, in collaboration with the USDA. Fuel Up to Play 60 encourages kids to be healthy by following nutritional guidelines and incorporating play and exercise into their daily lives. Fuel Up to Play 60 works with schools to make school breakfast more accessible to kids—in fact, they recently announced $35 million in grants aimed at helping schools update or upgrade their existing kitchen equipment together with the USDA, GENYOUth Foundation and the NFL!
Several Fuel Up to Play 60 events took place recently in Maine in celebration of National School Breakfast Week. At Lincoln Middle School in Portland, student chefs helped prepare breakfast pizza for staff, students and notable guests including the Portland Mayor, Ethan Strimling. At Sumner Memorial High School, students participated in a smoothie recipe contest and at Traip Academy in Kittery, students sampled smoothies and yogurt parfaits. Students were excited to learn that the smoothies and parfaits will soon be a daily choice when their Fuel Up to Play 60-funded refrigerated display case arrives. At my daughter’s school, Turner Elementary, my husband and I attended a Parent Breakfast with our daughter where the staff and principal helped serve and we got to sample the delicious breakfast options she enjoys daily.
Why so much emphasis on school breakfast?
- Three out of four K-8 public school teachers that were surveyed about breakfast reported that their students regularly show up to school hungry. *
- Breakfast at school offers kids a chance to share a meal with classmates and friends.
- Not all kids have nutritious breakfast available to them at home. Approximately one in five households with kids struggle at some point during the year to put food on the table. **
- School breakfast may lead to improved academic performance. ***
It’s easy to see why (school) breakfast is the most important meal of the day!
So what can we do as parents and teachers?
- Visit FuelUpToPlay60.com to learn more about the importance of school breakfast.
- Access Playbook resources such as Breakfast – Anytime, Anywhere and A Hero’s Breakfast to help encourage your local school to start a breakfast program or implement alternative breakfast service models.
- Find out if your school is enrolled in Fuel Up to Play 60. If not, learn how to get involved.
- Join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Just follow #FuelGreatness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP9fjTs59l0&feature=youtu.be
The author was compensated for this article. All opinions are her own.
The author was compensated for this article. All opinions are her own.
* “Hunger In Our Schools.” 1st ed. Washington: No Kid Hungry, 2015. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
** Felling, Christy. "STATEMENT: Share Our Strength's Bill Shore on New USDA Food Insecurity Numbers | www.nokidhungry.org." STATEMENT: Share Our Strength's Bill Shore on New USDA Food Insecurity Numbers | www.nokidhungry.org. No Kid Hungry, 4 Sept. 2014. Web. 01 Feb. 2016.
*** Adolphus, Katie, Clare L. Lawton, and Louise Dye. "The Effects of Breakfast on Behavior and Academic Performance in Children and Adolescents." Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Frontiers Media S.A., 8 Aug. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2016.
