Digging into School Breakfast
Today marks the first day of National School Breakfast Week in the United States. This program was started by the School Nutritional Association in order to celebrate the importance of nutritious school breakfast in fueling students for success. Observed every year during the first week of March, this event celebrates the national School Breakfast Program and the many ways it gives kids a great start every day.
In alignment with the School Nutrition Association, we have put together 3 statistics that together, highlight the state of national school breakfast programs today.
Here is what is on the menu:
Importance of School Breakfast
Currently, one in eight children in America live in households without consistent access to adequate food. School nutrition programs have been at the forefront of ensuring proper nourishment for children for years – in fact, for many kids, the school cafeteria is the only place they are guaranteed proper and consistent meals.
The importance of meals, particularly breakfast, cannot be under-stated. “On average, students who eat school breakfast have been shown to achieve 17.5% higher scores on standardized math tests and attend 1.5 more days of school per year (No Kid Hungry)”
“Studies have demonstrated that school meal programs play an important role in supporting obesity prevention, overall student health and academic achievement by improving children’s diets and combatting hunger.”
1. Increase in average daily participation (ADP) for free programs
Among all breakfast eaters in school cafeterias, one thing is for certain. Subsidized breakfast options are the best chance of getting kids to eat their morning meals. Studies have shown that students are much more likely to eat breakfast at school if it is free. “Programs that offer free meals to all students district-wide reported an increase in ADP for breakfast (8.9% increase in October 2022 compared to October 2021). This statistic is even more impressive when considering that the breakfast ADP in October of 2022 was 10.8% lower in the same timeframe for overall, paid school breakfast. This includes “breakfast in the classroom, grab-and-go breakfast carts/kiosks, and mid-morning breakfast breaks.”
2. Students’ breakfast preferences
School nutritional directors are taking note of students’ inclination towards fast food and quick-serve locations. In response to this, they are “upping their breakfast game to be more restaurant-like with everything from omelet bars and overnight oats to homemade cinnamon rolls and specialty parfaits.” Options like protein boxes, grain bowls and fruit smoothies have also been thrown into the mix to appease to the likings of student breakfast-goers.
You might like: What’s on the School menu for the K-12 2022-2023 school year?
3. Challenges facing school nutrition programs
One of the main challenges facing school nutritional programs today aside from supply and staff shortages are menu item shortages/discontinuity. According to a survey done by the School Nutrition Association, breakfast items are among the most challenging items to procure. These include breakfast items such as cereals, granola bars, biscuits, pancakes.
With so many sources of grains and carbohydrates being in a fickle position, school nutrition directors may want to look elsewhere for reliable starchy alternatives.
Options like Tio Jorge® Yuca Puffs are an excellent, great-tasting alternative to foods that are facing shortages, like potatoes.
Tio Jorge® Yuca (Cassava) Puffs
Kids dig it!
Whether in sunny Miami, Florida or in the outskirts of Montana, it is crucial that kids are getting a proper meal in the morning to succeed in school.
MIC Food® has been a trusted supplier of schools for over 35 years. Through serving frozen global products like plantain and yuca, we are committed to quality and reliability. Contact us to find out how we can provide solutions for your school menu today.
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