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…
During our recent site visit to observe breakfast-in-the-classroom at Woodridge Elementary in DeSoto, Texas, the foodservice staff was kind enough to share some of their very best National School Breakfast Week snapshots. It’s clear from the photos–breakfast-in-the-classroom is a great way to start every school day! A common myth about breakfast-in-the-classroom is that it can…
Guilford County Schools received a Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom grant during our second funding cycle in the 2012-13 school year. The North Carolina district is home to approximately 77,000 students across 126 schools; at the time the district applied for the grant, breakfast participation was low and school nutrition staff was seeking solutions.…
Timikel Sharpe vividly remembers wondering, as a young child, why some children had homes and nice families while others did not. Though she grew up in a loving home with two parents, Sharpe was aware not everyone was so lucky. “I remember saying, ‘Mom, why doesn’t everyone just adopt one kid, and then there won’t…
Liz Whidden’s director Melinda Bonner describes her as a dedicated employee and a caring person who looks for any opportunity to help others. Whidden is a “servant leader” who exhibits the heart and work ethic of a hero in the school cafeteria, and in the community. Bonner says that while others wonder where Liz gets…
David Schwake (RD, SNS) isn’t above dressing like a carrot or an apple if it will put a smile on a student’s face, and there is nothing he likes more than being swarmed by a room full of kindergarteners who can name the benefits of Vitamin A (“Eyes!”). Now the director of Litchfield Elementary School…
When we approached Mendez Middle School to start our day observing breakfast-in-the-classroom, a few students were already gathered outside the front door, chatting quietly and sharing screen time on phones and tablets. As we waited to gain entry into the cafeteria, two of the students said hello, and a brief chat ensued; both agreed that…
It was still dark when we arrived at J.J. “Jake” Pickle Elementary in Austin, Texas at 6:30 on a Monday morning. We were greeted by Pickle Elementary cafeteria manager Oleydis Padilla and her staff, already hard at work organizing and packing breakfast-in-the-classroom for the school’s more than 600 students. Soft-sided bags and coolers were set…
Do you know a school nutrition professional who goes above and beyond their daily duties to make a positive impact in their community? Nominate them for a 2017 School Nutrition Hero Award! With just one month left to submit your nominations, we need your help to identify the school nutrition heroes among us! The nomination…
