Stamford Public Schools are encouraging families to take advantage of healthy food choices available at school for breakfast. They are doing so by celebrating National School Breakfast Week this week.
The campaign theme, “Start Your Engines,” reminds the entire school community that school breakfast helps fuel students’ minds and bodies for high performance at school. This week, there will be special menus including yogurt parfaits and smoothies, in addition to cafeteria events featuring prize giveaways, fun activity sheets and food demonstrations by the district chefs. This is great for busy families to struggle to find time for a healthy breakfast during the week.
Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that an increasing number of students are starting their day with a nutritious breakfast in their school cafeterias. The USDA School Breakfast Program now serves 14 million students every day.
Studies show that students who eat school breakfast are more likely to:
- Reach higher levels of achievement in reading and math
- Score higher on standardized tests
- Have better concentration and memory
- Be more alert
- Maintain a healthy weight
“National School Breakfast Week helps us educate parents and students about all the healthy, great tasting, and appealing choices we offer,” said Dawn McGinn, Food Service Director The district serves over 2,400 breakfast meals daily through the federally funded School Breakfast Program. School nutrition professionals in Stamford Public Schools prepare breakfast and lunches every day that meet federal nutrition standards – limiting fat, calories and sodium – while encouraging students to choose from the fruits, vegetables and whole grains offered with school meals.”
Stamford Public Schools has been working to increase breakfast participation via alternate service models like Breakfast in the Classroom, Grab and Go Breakfast to the classroom and breakfast kiosks.
The “Start Your Engines” campaign is made possible by the School Nutrition Association and Kellogg’s®. Follow the fun on Facebook.com/TrayTalk using the hashtag #NSBW19!