No Kid Hungry Starts With Breakfast!

There are numerous reasons to start a School Breakfast Program. Many children do not have the opportunity to eat breakfast on a regular basis because of working parents, long bus rides, or the inability of families to provide enough food. These children are hungry when they reach school. They will continue to be hungry until lunch time, or they may eat less nutritious food to stave off tummy aches.

Eating breakfast has a real, powerful effect on kids. Studies have shown that kids who eat breakfast are more focused, score significantly higher on tests, miss less days of school, and increase fewer discipline problems. School breakfast provides the consistent nutrition kids need to learn, grow and reach their full potential. No kid should start the day with an empty stomach!

Breakfast After the Bell (BAB) programs are alternative breakfast models like  Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC) and Second Chance Breakfast. These programs met meet the basic needs of students, it provides ownership and leadership skills, educators have use their morning breakfasts together to use social and emotional learning check-ins, and more. Nearly 14 million kids across the country benefited from school breakfast last school year alone.

 

Happy National School Breakfast Week!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and critical in ensuring kids have the nutrition they need to learn and grow. This March, we’re celebrating #NSBW24 by highlighting how school breakfast changes lives and the school nutrition professionals at the heart of it.

Our Center for Best Practices highlighted the voices of current and former school nutrition directors and the keys to their successes with BAB models.

In this 13-minute video, Warren Ryan, Assistant Director for San Bernardino City Unified School District, shares his experience implementing BAB in his district.

Highlights

Why? Reasons to implement BAB:

  • Participation. How breakfast in the classroom in elementary schools and second chance breakfast at their high schools have helped increase participation.

  • Success. How to begin by building support for this model, starting small, and remaining flexible and persistent.

  • Problem solving. How to anticipate challenges and focus on solutions.

  • Partnerships. Ultimately, remember that we are in this together; this partnership can help everyone if we stay flexible and open to feedback!

Recognition. Celebrate accomplishments large and small; recognizing accomplishments and those staff who make it happen goes a long way.

In this 14-minute video, No Kid Hungry national consultant Donna Martin, a retired director of Burke County, Georgia’s school nutrition program, will share her knowledge about menu planning and some great menu ideas for Breakfast After the Bell school meal delivery programs.

Highlights
  • Basics of menu planning

  • USDA meal pattern 101, including food components: grains, milk/dairy, and fruit requirements

  • How to create menus that meet calorie ranges for all grades for easier district or school-wide planning

  • Sample menu ideas and offer vs serve details, food combination ideas

  • Breakfast in the Classroom, Grab and Go, and Last Chance breakfast

  • Culturally inclusive menu ideas and sample menu items

  • Smoothies and coffee bar examples and how to make them reimbursable

In this 13-minute video about equipment needs for BAB programs, No Kid Hungry national consultant Marla Caplon, recently retired from Montgomery County Public Schools, will share her ideas about how to make equipment needs decisions and things to consider, such as your campus setup and delivery methods.

Highlights
  • Examples of various types of equipment you can spend your budget on for BAB programs 

  • How to use what you already have to serve meals in areas other than the cafeteria

  • Price ranges and examples of the delivery equipment and other items you may not have considered needing before, including hand sanitizer, POS devices, and extra garbage bins

  • Tips and tricks on how to make BAB successful at your campuses

This 15-minute video about training and promoting your BAB program features No Kid Hungry national consultant Walter Campbell, who retired after 17 years where he was the executive director of nutrition services for Charleston County School District. He will share his expertise on how to train your campus community and promote your BAB program.

Highlights
  • Key questions to ask when planning your BAB program

  • Delivery models for BAB and what you need to know about implementing each (Second Chance, Grab and Go, Breakfast In the Classroom)

  • Funding and Grants for these programs

  • How to engage important stakeholders, including principals, teachers and students, custodians, staff, parents, and community members

  • Creating Peer-to-Peer Networks

  • A detailed timeline, meetings, and nutrition education for staff and students

  • Don’t forget the heart of our work – the students

In this 13-minute video, Nutrition Director Frances Montoya, from Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in California, will share her expertise about launching and sustaining your BAB program.

Highlights
  • Pre-Launch – things to consider include meeting with stakeholders to plan and develop your strategy together and marketing on social media, with student groups, in the community, and among school staff.

  • Launch – think about ways to make it fun, including adding music, extra staff, inviting administrators to participate, taking pictures, having staff walk-throughs, posting to social media, and #createahashtag for your event!

  • Feedback – make sure to check in with everyone, create and maintain open communication loops, have parent and student surveys, and take time to reflect on your program and the comments received.

  • Outreach & Marketing – these strategies are shared throughout the presentation.

No Kid Hungry is committed to ensuring that program sponsors, community organizations, and advocates have the resources and tools they need to ensure all kids have the food they need to thrive. We’ve highlighted several current resources above, including resources specifically for California schools and families.

To access our full national resource library and to register for webinars on various topics around child nutrition, visit our Center for Best Practices website

For technical assistance and support, contact us.

Last Reviewed: March 11, 2024