As soon as my kids wake up in the morning the first thing they do is ask for breakfast! I sometimes think my kids are sneaking out at night and running laps on the track—they are so famished. Breakfast has become even more important in my house ever since my oldest started kindergarten. Given her busy school day, I know how important it is for her to eat a nutritious breakfast before school begins.
Getting ready for school in the morning and making sure everybody has what they need can cause a lot of stress and chaos. So it is great to know that Salem/Keizer schools offer students the opportunity to eat a wholesome breakfast before school starts.
I just recently heard about an amazing program, Fuel Up to Play 60—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 60 minutes of 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 with the USDA, GENYOUth Foundation and the NFL!
A recent local campaign entitled, “Let’s Do Breakfast, Oregon!” celebrated national school breakfast week March 7-11. Schools were invited to participate in the “Try 5 for Breakfast Week” activity series to promote school breakfast and engagement. Theme days included Share a Success Story Day, Invite Families to Breakfast Day, and Try-Day Friday.
You can find more information at: https://oregonhunger.org/breakfast.
Did you know?
• 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. ***
Make sure your kids, and your kid’s classmates are starting their day off the best way possible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP9fjTs59l0&feature=youtu.be
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.
