building up school breakfast (continued)
that typically opt out of breakfast for various reasons. This is also where talking with students can help, as you may be able to poll your students and see what method they think they would participate in the most. Promote Your Program Changes Most importantly, don’t let your program improvements go unannounced or unnoticed! Promote the changes to students, faculty, and parents. Send out menus highlighting the updates to families and feature your new and improved menus on social media or in school newsletters. Make sure to educate families as to why you have made some menu switches, such as lowering sugar and adding meat and meat alternates to help improve student focus! Also, when using social media, post pictures of your awesome menu items. Both parents and students love to see what will be on a student’s tray! Posting to Facebook or Instagram only takes a couple of minutes, but the “free” advertising can mean a rise in participation. Parents may also be more likely to encourage their students to eat breakfast at school when they are aware of the healthy options available. Finally, IDOE would love to see what you’re doing at your schools for breakfast. Make sure to reach out and share pictures and
seeds. These products can be incorporated into popular menu options, such as breakfast sandwiches, breakfast pizzas, breakfast burritos, and yogurt parfaits with granola. Check out USDA’s new guide titled, Offering Meats and Meat Alternates at School Breakfast for example menus, crediting information, and more. By offering more meat and meat alternates at breakfast, you can help students excel in the classroom and stay well- nourished until it’s time for lunch! Test New Service Methods In addition to upgrading your menu, rethinking when, where, and how you distribute breakfast can impact student participation immensely! Many schools serve breakfast the “traditional” way. This is breakfast that is served in the cafeteria before the start of the school day. Grab-and-go breakfast is becoming more popular as a method for serving breakfast. Students pick up packaged breakfasts from a mobile service cart in the hallway, entryway, drop off zone, and/or the cafeteria. This is one of the most convenient ways for students to receive reimbursable meals. It allows students to receive a meal faster on the way to their classroom or for older students, it gives them more time to get back with their friends and eat their breakfast. It is also a great option for those in middle or high school sports, so they can grab a breakfast to refuel after an early morning practice, weights, or workout session. Another option is breakfast in the classroom where students eat their meal in the classroom either before school starts or after the bell rings for the school day. This can take place while teachers are taking attendance, homework is being turned in, and the day is just getting started. The last option is breakfast after the bell, where students can get a breakfast during a morning break, such as a passing period after their first class of the day. If you are rethinking your breakfast program for this school year, look and see if a new service method might pull in more students
success stories of what you’re doing in your programs for breakfast, whether it’s a new menu item, new service method, or other success story. We love to see what you’re doing and share those successes with other schools across the state!
Sources
1 - https://frac.org/wp-content/uploads/BIC.jpg 2- https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/ MakeBreakfastFirstClass.pdf 3 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3737458/ 4 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6768385/ 5 - https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/ BestPracticesReducingAddedSugars.pdf 6 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7911531/ 7 - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21149436/
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