Celebrate National School Breakfast Week with No Kid Hungry Kentucky
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 year, we’re celebrating #NSBW23 by highlighting how school breakfast changes lives, and the school nutrition professionals at the heart of it.
By feeding kids a healthy school breakfast, schools are providing the foundation for kids to succeed. School breakfast is intertwined with student success. Studies show that kids who eat school breakfast are more likely to excel academically, be more alert, and have better concentration, memory and attendance and fewer behavior problems. School breakfast is a win for families too and can help lighten the load during busy weekday mornings.
The benefits of school breakfast are compounding and have the ability to affect children now and their futures. Check out these fast facts about school breakfast below, and for additional information and the research behind these facts, click here.
School Breakfast Facts
- Students with regular access to nutritious food tend to have significantly lower levels of behavioral, emotional and educational problems.
- Students who eat breakfast have significantly higher test scores in spelling, reading, and math.
- Providing students with breakfast in the classroom helps to reduce chronic absenteeism by 6%.
- Students who attend class more regularly are 20% more likely to graduate from high school.
- High school graduates on average earn $10,000 more annually and have a higher employment rate.
Kentucky School Breakfast Champions
Here in Kentucky, even as they face an immense set of challenges, including supply chain disruptions and labor shortages, school nutrition staff have adapted to ensure kids get a healthy meal to start the day; that’s why we’re also celebrating National School Breakfast Week by recognizing School Breakfast Champions across Kentucky districts and lifting up the work they do to expand access to school breakfast. This year, we are celebrating 11 School Breakfast Champions across 7 school districts. Thank you to all our champions, and to every individual serving school breakfast and working to make sure that Kentucky students are fed and healthy. You can learn more about our School Breakfast Champions and their stories on the Kentucky School Breakfast Champions website.
- Rachael Paul, Hardin County Schools
- Misty Chapman, Jessamine County Schools
- Gaye Johnson, McClean County Schools
- Christina Marvin, Calloway County Schools
- Jackie Gibbons, Hardin County Schools
- Tomia Denton, Fayette County Schools
- Ashley Smith, Hardin County Schools
- Debra Teater, Jessamine County Schools
- Jeannette Weekman, Bullitt County Schools
- Kenny P the Nutrition Panda, Warren County Schools
- Cindy Rosel, Hardin County Schools