Fueling Our Nation’s Kids, One Breakfast at a Time
March 07, 2022 | By
In honor of National School Breakfast Week, we’re highlighting resources around creating a successful school breakfast program and sharing examples from the field.
We have all heard the expression: “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” It certainly plays a crucial role in fueling kids to have a productive day at school. Children need nutritious food in the morning to fuel their bodies, and many studies prove how breakfast affects attention, behavior issues, mental health, and academic performance. While the pandemic has shifted the way that certain school meal programs operate school breakfast, there are plenty of serving methods they can utilize.
If your district is considering expansion of school breakfast, there are many useful toolkits and resources available to support your efforts. If you already have a breakfast program at your school - fantastic! In this blog, we will be highlighting resources around creating and expanding a successful school breakfast program.
We have all heard the expression: “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” It certainly plays a crucial role in fueling kids to have a productive day at school. Children need nutritious food in the morning to fuel their bodies, and many studies prove how breakfast affects attention, behavior issues, mental health, and academic performance. While the pandemic has shifted the way that certain school meal programs operate school breakfast, there are plenty of serving methods they can utilize.
If your district is considering expansion of school breakfast, there are many useful toolkits and resources available to support your efforts. If you already have a breakfast program at your school - fantastic! In this blog, we will be highlighting resources around creating and expanding a successful school breakfast program.
Project Cereal
Conscious Kitchen is launching a delicious new initiative with West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD): Project Cereal. The campaign sets students up for health and success, while transforming school food supply chains to include more fresh and organic ingredients. Focusing on a bowl of cereal is a simple, measurable, achievable step schools can take to positively impact bodies and minds, climate, and local economies.
Why organic? Organic foods do not contain harmful pesticides and chemicals, use fewer petroleum-based inputs, create less externalities, have higher nutrition, and are better for people and the environment. Kicking off with an event on Monday, March 7th and serving all week, Conscious Kitchen and WCCUSD will host breakfasts with organic cereals and/or a special entrée, nutritious local organic milk, and farm fresh organic produce.
Project Cereal
Conscious Kitchen is launching a delicious new initiative with West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD): Project Cereal. The campaign sets students up for health and success, while transforming school food supply chains to include more fresh and organic ingredients. Focusing on a bowl of cereal is a simple, measurable, achievable step schools can take to positively impact bodies and minds, climate, and local economies.
Why organic? Organic foods do not contain harmful pesticides and chemicals, use fewer petroleum-based inputs, create less externalities, have higher nutrition, and are better for people and the environment. Kicking off with an event on Monday, March 7th and serving all week, Conscious Kitchen and WCCUSD will host breakfasts with organic cereals and/or a special entrée, nutritious local organic milk, and farm fresh organic produce.
Austin Independent School District
Austin Independent School District (AISD) has a robust plan for National School Breakfast Week, starting with a toolkit shared with school principals. This toolkit provides activity sheets, morning announcements, sample social media posts, school breakfast statistics and more!
On Friday, March 11, AISD will highlight a whole grain apple cinnamon muffin from one of their favorite local vendors, New World Bakery (NWB). These muffins are new to the menu this school year, and represent a new venture with the NWB partnership. As the food industry began experiencing the impact of nationwide supply chain shortages, AISD found opportunities to expand local vendor relationships.
Austin Independent School District
Austin Independent School District (AISD) has a robust plan for National School Breakfast Week, starting with a toolkit shared with school principals. This toolkit provides activity sheets, morning announcements, sample social media posts, school breakfast statistics and more!
On Friday, March 11, AISD will highlight a whole grain apple cinnamon muffin from one of their favorite local vendors, New World Bakery (NWB). These muffins are new to the menu this school year, and represent a new venture with the NWB partnership. As the food industry began experiencing the impact of nationwide supply chain shortages, AISD found opportunities to expand local vendor relationships.
NWB, located just south of Austin in Kyle, TX, is one of nearly 80 vendors that supply 112 kitchens across the district. As a direct delivery vendor, NWB remained a reliable supplier, regularly delivering without interruption to each campus. Over the past few years, NWB bread and buns have appeared on multiple menus and rotations. This year, upon request, NWB developed new products for school menus including whole grain dinner rolls as well as blueberry, apple cinnamon, and banana muffins.
AISD will also be serving a “breakfast for lunch” menu at elementary schools to highlight various breakfast options. This menu will feature pancakes with scratch prepared syrup, turkey or veggie sausage, potato puffs, chilled strawberries, and milk. As the day before Spring Break, campuses are encouraged to make for a fun lunch day, with ideas like “Pancakes and Pajamas.”
NWB, located just south of Austin in Kyle, TX, is one of nearly 80 vendors that supply 112 kitchens across the district. As a direct delivery vendor, NWB remained a reliable supplier, regularly delivering without interruption to each campus. Over the past few years, NWB bread and buns have appeared on multiple menus and rotations. This year, upon request, NWB developed new products for school menus including whole grain dinner rolls as well as blueberry, apple cinnamon, and banana muffins.
AISD will also be serving a “breakfast for lunch” menu at elementary schools to highlight various breakfast options. This menu will feature pancakes with scratch prepared syrup, turkey or veggie sausage, potato puffs, chilled strawberries, and milk. As the day before Spring Break, campuses are encouraged to make for a fun lunch day, with ideas like “Pancakes and Pajamas.”
