Description

The school foodservice director created a ten minute presentation to promote school meals to parents. The presentation informed them about the variety of nutritious foods offered at both breakfast and lunch, with an emphasis on breakfast to encourage increased participation. The presentation was delivered at 7th Grade Orientation and again, later in the fall, at an Open House.

Parents and students toured the school and visited with teachers. Tables were set up with brochures and other handouts about dietary guidelines, and nutritious food items that the school offers were available for sampling.

Description

The K-12 Sugar Valley Rural Charter School was founded in 2000. School lunch was available from the beginning, but the breakfast program only began in 2007. School breakfast was heavily promoted the first year, and it was well-received by the school’s families.

Breakfast at this school has always been Universal Free because of the rather high free and reduced-price eligibility rate, which is over fifty percent.

The first two years, breakfast was served and eaten in the cafeteria (multi-purpose room), which is next to the kitchen and between the elementary wing and the middle/secondary wing of the building. All grades, K through 12, ate at the same time because the room had to also be readied in time for first period PE classes.

Preparing the room for the PE classes right after breakfast eventually became problematic, so Grab-N-Go service to the classrooms was instituted for the third year of the breakfast program. Teachers were reluctant at first, but the CEO was 100 percent behind the FSD’s decision to make this change, and Grab-N-Go breakfast was adopted in all classrooms.

Students still go to the cafeteria to get their Grab-N-Go breakfasts. All warm foods are wrapped in foil and kept warm in chafing dishes after they've been heated in the oven. Warm cereals are served in foam boxes that can retain heat and hold milk. Coolers keep milk and other cold items ready for students. When students have made their selections they take their breakfasts to their classrooms to eat.

Description

Standard cafeteria-style breakfast service had been in operation, but it became necessary to develop a way to feed the younger students more quickly so they could begin their academics on time. Thus, modifications were made to the cafeteria service so each student could receive and complete breakfast in a more timely fashion.

Now, the food service staff members prepare student trays in advance and place them on the cafeteria tables each morning. When students arrive at the cafeteria they choose their cold items – milk and fruit – from a cooler, then sit down at the trays to eat. Each tray already contains utensils and other items needed to consume a reimbursable breakfast. Hot items are added to the trays just before the students sit down. Students with special dietary needs are provided personalized trays that accommodate their needs.

Students return to their classrooms when they have finished eating breakfast, and the cafeteria staff members clean up the trays left behind, as a waiter or waitress would do in a restaurant. Then they prepare for the next round of students.

Parents send cash and checks to the school to pay on their children’s accounts. When the students arrive at school in the morning, they first go to their classrooms to receive personalized breakfast tickets. Student numbers are printed on the tickets, which are the same kind of tickets that older students use to purchase school meals. To minimize problems with these young students losing tickets, they receive their tickets daily instead of keeping them in their possession as the older students do. The students take the tickets to the cafeteria where they are redeemed to pay for meals.

Description

South Butler County School District began a breakfast program for the primary school (grades 1-3) in Fall of 2009 and for the intermediate school (grades 4-5) in Winter of 2010. Breakfast service is scheduled to also begin at both the middle school and the high school in Fall of 2010. A unique “Breakfast Taste Test” event was conducted for all students and staff at the primary, intermediate, and middle schools: the students were given a free meal prior to initiation of each building’s new program, and they were familiarized with the foods and procedures of school breakfast.

The taste test event included a visual display of meal components on sample breakfast trays. These served to show students some of the foods that would be available through the upcoming breakfast program, but they also were used as illustrations of how to be sure to select the components of a reimbursable breakfast.

The “Breakfast Taste Test” event and the actual breakfast program were promoted not only to students, but to parents, teachers, and other staff. Letters went home to parents explaining the breakfast program. Parents were informed that all students qualify for the program, whether they are full-price, reduced, or free students.

Description

Wyoming Area School District promoted breakfast at all of its elementary schools by inviting the parents to eat breakfast with their children. The Parent-Teacher Organization assisted in the promotion of this “Bring Your Parents to Breakfast” campaign

Each school invited parents to attend on either or both of two, 45-minute “parent breakfast” days. Pre-school aged siblings were welcomed, which helped to encourage parent participation.

Many students brought both parents along for the breakfast events. Many of the students who participated in this event were new to the breakfast program.

Description

The librarian wanted a cafe in the high school library, and the foodservice director wanted to start a breakfast program for the building. The foodservice director did not want the cafe’s sales to compete with foodservice department sales, so they worked together to create a reimbursable breakfast service through the library’s cafe. A section of the library was transformed into “The Bulldog Café” which serves breakfast from 7:15 a.m. through the end of third period (10 a.m.) every day.

Supplies for the setup came from several sources. The librarian obtained the sofas and the high-rise tables and chairs for the cafe seating area. The maintenance department installed  countertops over base storage cabinets, and these units are used to establish the boundaries of the cafe area within the library. The foodservice director used Dairy Association grant funds to purchase warming, cooling, and display equipment for the operation, and the Dairy Association had a nice “Bulldog Cafe” sign designed and built for the site.

Carpeting that ran throughout the library was removed from the cafe area to facilitate cleanup. Now, food must remain in the cafe area, but students are allowed to take drinks throughout the library as long as spills do not become a persistent problem.

All foods offered through the Bulldog Cafe are Grab-N-Go style. Hot items are prepared in the kitchen and transported to the library in insulated carriers. Cold items get to the library in iced coolers, and then they are displayed a few at a time in decorative tubs filled with ice.

Breakfast is not served anywhere else in the building, not even in the cafeteria. Students are allowed to visit the library to get breakfast during study halls before 10 a.m. They may eat their food in the cafe, or they may take it back to their classrooms to eat it there.

A finger scan POS system is used.

Description

Northumberland Christian School started a breakfast program in 2008. There was a strong start, but they were serving only cold breakfast items, and monthly sales soon began to decline. But the situation was turned around with a small investment in a countertop warmer and some promotional activities. The school's kitchen staff began to cook hot foods for breakfast. They effectively promoted the change, and participation increased dramatically.

With the addition of a warmer for the new hot foods, it is now possible to keep whole grain waffles and pancakes warm until students serve themselves. Breakfast pizza with whole grain crust is also now available. Bagels can be served warm, now, too. Students tend to enjoy (and often prefer) warm breakfast foods, so participation rose again with their addition to the menu.

Celebration of National School Breakfast Week provided an opportunity to promote the hot foods along with breakfast in general. Every student was given a free breakfast one day during the promotion week, when breakfast posters and banners were displayed throughout the school. Students who participated in the free breakfast filled out a survey, the results of which were then used by the foodservice director to further enhance and promote the program.

Description

Prior to the 2008-2009 school year, the Millersburg Area SD served breakfast only on PSSA test days. Realizing that daily breakfast could improve academic performance throughout the year, and with an elementary free and reduced rate of about 31%, it was decided to start a district-wide school breakfast program in 2009. Before implementing their program, administrators consulted with Breakfast Brigade members David Lloyd and Carol Gilbert.

Because of scheduling issues and a small cafeteria which would not accommodate all students, David Lloyd suggested that breakfast in the classroom would be a good format for the Lenkerville Elementary School. Supplies were purchased for cooling and transporting the meals.

With consideration for scheduling issues, Carol Gilbert provided guidance toward choosing the Grab-N-Go format in the secondary building. Both hot and cold breakfast foods have been made available through the school’s cafeteria, where a student can gather components of a reimbursable meal before the bell rings.

Adjustments have been made to increase participation at the secondary building. Middle school students were eventually directed to the cafeteria to await the start of homeroom, and a successful breakfast promotion consisting of a drawing for prizes was conducted. There is also the possibility of using the cafeteria as the location for high school homeroom, which might soon become a reality, too.

Description

Karns City Area School District has added a Grab-N-Go style breakfast for the senior high students who are too busy with morning meetings to participate in the traditional, cafeteria-based breakfast program. Pre-packaged meals are now delivered to the senior high wing where students can purchase breakfast and take it to their homerooms or morning clubs and meetings.

The use of clam-shell packaging to contain entire reimbursable breakfasts was instituted, and a cart was purchased to transport the food.

Promotion of the program was achieved through posters in the cafeteria as well as in the senior wing. Reminders were incorporated into the morning public address system announcements, and teachers included reminders in their announcements.

Description

Forest City Regional School District was close to achieving a 20% breakfast participation rate which would allow them to receive a higher lunch reimbursement rate. Seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students waited for homeroom in the cafeteria, where they could get breakfast. However, the tenth through twelfth graders who waited in the gym did not want to leave their friends to go to the cafeteria for breakfast. To attract the additional students needed to achieve the 20% goal, breakfast was made available in the hallway outside of the gym for these older students.

“Breakfast in the Hallway” has been made possible by the purchase of a warmer-cart that delivers hot breakfast items to the gym hallway. A cooler for milk and juice is also utilized. After students make their breakfast selections from this daily setup they can go to the gym to eat, or they can sit at tables in the hallway which are specifically provided for this purpose.

Breakfast continues to be offered for the younger students while they wait in the cafeteria, but the older students prefer to eat in the coffee shop-style atmosphere created by the tables in the hallway by the gym.

Description

Antonia Pantoja utilized peer educators to promote breakfast to the rest of the school. First, a group of fifth grade students received three nutrition education lessons focused on the importance of breakfast. Members of this nutrition education class then taught the rest of the school (fifth through eighth grades) about the importance of eating breakfast. These students created presentations utilizing magazine articles, advertisements, and their own creativity.

The 5^th-grade peer educators began their week-long breakfast promotion by conducting milk tasting activities. Other students who came to the cafeteria were encouraged to taste various milk products and rate them. This blindfolded taste test allowed many students to try skim milk for the first time. Participants described the types of milk they tasted, and they were then asked to write a sentence about the importance of a nutritious breakfast.

After the milk-tasting, the 5^th-grade peer educators conducted the presentations about breakfast that they had created in the nutrition education classes. The foodservice director wrapped up the activities for them by re-capping the important points of their presentations.

The peer educators received “Power Up with Breakfast” buttons, everyone received “Power Up with Breakfast” pencils, and the cafeteria was decorated with breakfast posters and “Power Up with Breakfast” balloons.

Description

During National School Breakfast Week in March, elementary school students who participated in the school breakfast program were entered in a drawing. The principal and cafeteria manager in each building worked together to implement and promote the contest.

Students could enter each day of the promotion week, and five lucky winners from each of the seven schools were picked on Friday, the last day of National School Breakfast Week. A list of breakfast items was provided to these winners, and they each chose a favorite to be served on a day of their choosing in April.

April menus then displayed the students’ names and highlighted their breakfast choices. In addition, winning students were presented with certificates as well as special recognition during the daily announcements at their schools. The district website also provided positive promotion of the event.

Description

Great Valley School District has replaced commercially available, highly-processed muffins and breads with items made from scratch in their own kitchens. They have replaced the fat (e.g. oil) in muffins with applesauce, yogurt, and pureed vegetables which are acquired from local vendors whenever possible. These changes have decreased the amount of calories, fat, and sodium, as well as increased vitamin, mineral, and fiber content.

Emulating commercial rivals, the ten new varieties of muffins are packaged in locally produced, attractive wrappers that include nutrition labels.

The changes have been accompanied by extensive marketing. Banners promoting breakfast are displayed each morning in the middle and high schools. Elementary level breakfast has been advertised in all the school newsletters. Elementary breakfast participants have won raffle prizes during promotional periods.

Each elementary school makes two-ounce muffins which are also sealed and packaged with attractive labeling. These are displayed with colorful signage that lists the available flavors and promotes the idea that the muffins are “home-made.”

In addition to improving the muffins and breads, vegetables have been added to egg dishes and at the high school a breakfast combo meal was created consisting of a muffin, a four-ounce yogurt, a piece of fruit, and milk.

Description

The student population at the Riverside Elementary East school includes a high percentage of children who are eligible for free or reduced price school meals. Because many of these students were not regularly eating breakfast, a decision was made to implement a breakfast program in the building. All students would then have the opportunity for a good nutritional start on the day, not just those who received breakfast at home

A Grab-N-Go format has been implemented to serve breakfast. As students arrive in the morning, those who want to eat breakfast report directly to the cafeteria where their names are checked off by grade level. Students are then given a bagged breakfast which is taken to their classrooms to be eaten during the morning homeroom period.

Breakfast trash is placed into cans in the hallway, where it is soon picked up by the custodial staff.

Description

A needs assessment determined that 22% of students at Souderton Area School District were not eating breakfast each day. A Grab-‘N-Go breakfast program has been implemented at the junior high school and the middle school to make it easy for students in those buildings to eat breakfast.

Students exiting the school buses are offered a breakfast from a portable cart that utilizes a Point of Sale system. Pre-bagged hot and cold breakfast items are available for the students to pick up and take to classrooms where they are permitted to eat breakfast each morning.

Description

Burgettstown Middle School’s new breakfast program was promoted through “Test Kitchen Challenges” sponsored by the Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) teachers and the food service director. Their plan combined cooking instruction with nutrition education for 6^th and 8^th grade foods class students. Every six weeks a new group of students prepared breakfast foods during a FCS class instructed by the food service director, who is an executive chef. He sparked their enthusiasm by wearing his traditional white hat and jacket.

The recipes prepared in class would then be featured on the breakfast menu the following week. To interest the rest of the student body in participating in the new school breakfast program, each group of FCS students planned and conducted a promotional campaign about their “Challenge” foods. This was achieved by word-of-mouth as well as by creating posters for the cafeteria to advocate for each of the featured dishes.

Description

Members of the Pennridge High School food service team met with a group of students each month to determine what the students would like to be served for breakfast. Students and staff communicated via surveys, taste tests, and meetings to create a menu which incorporated healthy choices and traditional items that students would enjoy. The student committee reported back to the student body about the menu changes.

Some of the additions to the menu were: melon, strawberries, fruit salad, and granola mixed with dried fruit for yogurt topping.

Additionally, the food service staff worked with the principal to increase breakfast service to three hours each day.

A final component of the improved breakfast service included an enhanced atmosphere which incorporated music in the cafeteria.

Description

Bald Eagle Area School District combines junior and senior high students into one building. When the buses arrive in the morning, the junior high students wait in the cafeteria for classes to begin, while the senior high students inhabit the lobby.

Breakfast is served in the cafeteria, but the senior high students weren’t participating because they wanted to remain in the lobby with their friends. When the food service director learned that this was the reason so few senior high students were eating school breakfast, he devised a plan to take breakfast service to them.

Because the student store in the lobby is sponsored by the foodservice department, the director was able to open it in the mornings to serve breakfast to senior high students.  Now, these students who do not want to leave their friends to get breakfast in the cafeteria can remain in the lobby and purchase breakfast items, anyway.  Breakfast participation doubled immediately when this new system was added to the cafeteria service.