Is eating a healthy breakfast important for learning? More than 100 education, food-service, and anti-hunger stakeholders attending a recent Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom (PBIC) summit think so. And they know that partnerships and stakeholder engagement are crucial to ensuring that every child who needs breakfast gets it. The summit — held April 11,…
Where does your state rank in school breakfast performance? Find out in the most recent School Breakfast Scorecard from our partners at Food Research & Action Center. Use the scorecard to track school breakfast trends nationally and to compare school breakfast participation and service by state. Here is a quick summary of key data points…
Are you ready for National School Breakfast Week? It’s time to “Start Your Engines” and prepare to celebrate all the great things about school breakfast, March 4-8, 2019. We look forward to #NSBW every year, because it gives us the opportunity to celebrate and elevate an important program that feeds more than fourteen million students…
The third city on our Partners for Breakfast-in-the-Classroom storytelling tour was in Garfield Heights, Ohio. During our two-day behind-the-scenes tour of Garfield Heights City Schools we were able to see their overwrap machines in action, observe breakfast-in-the-classroom satellite delivery from the central kitchen, and talk to stakeholders about the transformative power of breakfast-in-the-classroom. A large central…
The second stop on our Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom storytelling tour was Frances C. Hammond Middle School in Alexandria, Virginia. After our trip to Austin ISD in Texas to see scratch-made kolaches prepared and served for breakfast-in-the-classroom, we traveled east to Alexandria City Public Schools in Virginia, where we observed Hammond’s popular “Breakfast…
Have you heard? Members of our team from the School Nutrition Foundation are on the road as part of an ongoing Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom storytelling project. We are capturing some of our favorite breakfast-in-the-classroom stories from our funded districts to share with you in coming months. Our first stop was Austin Independent…
Equipment can make all the difference to the success of a breakfast-in-the-classroom program, from menu development to delivery method. Your kitchen equipment is a big factor in determining the types of foods you can prepare, hold, deliver, and serve to the classroom. As you plan what your BIC program will look like, you may find…
One of the more persistent myths about breakfast-in-the-classroom is that schools only serve cold or pre-packaged, heat-and-serve items. In fact, many schools are using scratch and speed-scratch preparation for school breakfast—and yes, for breakfast-in-the-classroom! It’s easier than it seems, and there are a host of potential benefits: Improved perception of school food Increased participation Lower…
One big lesson we took from Attendance Matters Month was the importance of supporting data. When you are trying to bring stakeholders on board to support your effort—whether it’s improving attendance or implementing breakfast-in-the-classroom—data-driven arguments are crucial to your success. Each stakeholder group has their own lens through which to view your program, and each…
When it comes to marketing breakfast-in-the-classroom, we recommend listening to the experts—in this case, two Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom grant recipients. Today we’re going to share some of the simple, effective marketing strategies our BIC grantees swear by for breakfast-in-the-classroom success. Incentivize It! Contests, prizes, limited time offers, exclusive opportunities—get students excited about…
