Building off the success of the Pennsylvania School Breakfast Challenge, which involved over one-thousand schools statewide, awarded prizes to 33 winning schools, and increased the number of children eating breakfast by 27% at schools where breakfast participation improved.

This week, Công dân cho trẻ em và thanh thiếu niên (PCCY) and Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom joined key stakeholders and local school nutrition leaders at the Pennsylvania School Breakfast Summit in Harrisburg to discuss the expansion of school breakfast in Pennsylvania’s high-need schools. The summit included details of a $5 million grant from the Walmart Foundation that will allow the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom initiative to support efforts in Pennsylvania, along with six other states, to improve participation in the federally-funded School Breakfast Program and boost learning and health.

Attendees at today’s summit explored how to make the Breakfast in the Classroom program work in Pennsylvania schools and discussed the grant opportunity in greater detail including: the application process, qualifications for eligible schools, the needs assessment and action plan for potential schools, and training for school building staff.

School districts awarded a grant will rework how school breakfast is delivered, by offering it to all students at no charge and moving it from the cafeteria to the classroom to provide more students with the opportunity to start their school day with a healthy breakfast.

School districts will be selected based on a number of students that qualify for free or reduced priced meals, average daily participation in the program, and district and school-level support. Implementation of the program will begin in the 2014-2015 school year and will require a full commitment from all stakeholders in the district.

“Breakfast in the Classroom is a great opportunity for our school districts to help eliminate hunger by bringing breakfast into each classroom and ensure all students are setup for great success,” said Kathy Fisher, Family Economic Security Director for Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY). “We look forward to seeing the implementation of the breakfast program throughout Pennsylvania and how it will positively impact the daily lives of our students and staff.”

Data consistently show the underutilization of the federal School Breakfast Program, which is available in most U.S. schools and institutions. School bus schedules, late arrivals to school, pressure to go directly to class, and reluctance to be labeled “low income” are among the reasons that many students do not participate in cafeteria-based school breakfast. The implementation of Breakfast in the Classroom by school districts across the country over the past two years has led to increased school breakfast participation in low-income schools.

Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom is a joint initiative from the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), the National Association of Elementary School Principals Foundation (NAESPF), the National Education Association Health Information Network (NEA HIN), and the School Nutrition Foundation (SNF) – collectively known as the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom. The Partners are working in conjunction with state partners, including: the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Division of Food and Nutrition; the Pennsylvania State Education Association; the School Nutrition Association of Pennsylvania; and Public Citizens for Children and Youth.

University City Review – July 1, 2014 – Đọc bài báo trực tuyến