School Breakfast is More than Nutrition for our Family

Earlier this year, my elementary school-aged kids begged me to buy breakfast at school. This seemed silly to me. We live just a few blocks from school, I work from home and can get them there on time easily.  Why pay for breakfast when we can have it at home?  

Despite all of these arguments, they continued to beg. I decided it wouldn’t hurt for them to buy breakfast one day a week. I found out what time they needed to be in the cafeteria and they chose a day on the menu they wanted to buy. Little did I know what a beneficial experience this would be for them. 

I went with them the first time to see what it was all about. We walked into the cafeteria and familiar adults wished them good morning and friends shouted out with glee at their new breakfast-mates. The social aspect in a school lunchroom – even for breakfast – is one of the most important parts of a student’s day.

As I find out more about the importance of school breakfast, I learn that while the social aspect for my children is what is important for them, for many students across the country, this is the only chance to start their day with a meal. Can you imagine how hard it must be to concentrate, learn and behave when you are hungry? For this reason, I am so pleased that Macaroni Kid is helping to promote Fuel Up to Play 60, an in-school health and wellness program launched by National Dairy Council and NFL, in collaboration with the USDA, to help encourage today's youth to lead healthier lives. 

Fuel Up to Play 60 events took place recently in Ohio in celebration of National School Breakfast Week. The events included several Cleveland Browns players participating in school breakfast and signing the breakfast pledge banner. Danny Shelton and Chomps had breakfast, served milk and did a Q&A with students at Gilled Sweet Elementary in the Fairview Park School District. John Hughes had breakfast, made morning announcements and spoke with a 5th grade classroom as well as the cafeteria staff at Columbus Intermediate of Bedford City Schools. Cam Erving, who went to Richmond Heights Elementary, made the morning announcements with a special breakfast message, visited every classroom and visited with the cafeteria staff. What exciting days these were for the students and the Browns players! 

Why is breakfast at school so important?

• All students deserve a chance to start the day off with the right tools to help them succeed, beginning with breakfast. Unfortunately, many students aren’t getting that important meal at home. Three out of 4 public school teachers of grades K-8 report that their students regularly come to school hungry. *
• Some studies show that school breakfast can lead to improved academic performance. **
• Eating breakfast at school offers a chance to increase intake of fruits and vegetables throughout the entire week. ***
• School breakfast not only provides nutrition but an opportunity for children to share a meal with classmates and increase social interactions with their peers. Students can feel encouraged, through a simple social driver like breakfast with friends, to get to school early, eat healthy and start the day off right.

How Fuel Up to Play 60 can help you:  

• Fuel Up to Play 60 is working to increase school breakfast awareness and participation to make sure all kids start their day with the fuel they need to help them succeed.
• Fuel Up to Play 60 champions nutritious breakfasts for kids, a meal that helps them meet their nutrient needs, provides energy to start the day and may benefit school performance. **
• Fuel Up to Play 60 aims to provide resources to mobilize communities to advocate for and implement alternative school breakfast options (such as Breakfast in the Classroom, Grab and Go and Second Chance Breakfast) in school districts nationwide, as part of an ongoing process.

What you can do, as a parent, teacher and/or community member:

• Visit FuelUpToPlay60.com to learn how school breakfast can provide children with the nutrients they need and how you can help make breakfast available to all students.
• Learn more about why school breakfast matters and see how school districts, and others are helping #FuelGreatness.
• Access Playbook resources such as Breakfast – Anytime, Anywhere and A Hero’s Breakfast to help encourage your local school to start a breakfast program and implement alternative breakfast service models.
• Find ways to help your school enroll in Fuel Up to Play 60 or further their involvement in the program.
• Join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Just search #FuelGreatness.

Check out how the program is helping make breakfast time fun, too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J81sIjaUH-Q

* “Hunger In Our Schools.” 1st ed. Washington: No Kid Hungry, 2015. Web. 22 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.
***  Andaya, Abegail A. et al. “The Association between Family Meals, TV Viewing during Meals, and Fruit and Vegetables and Soda and Chips Intake among Latino Children.” Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 43.5 (2011): 308–315. PMC. Web. 1 Feb. 2016.