RELEASE: No Kid Hungry Louisiana Announces Louisiana School Breakfast Challenge Winners
New Orleans, LA – No Kid Hungry Louisiana announced the winners of this year’s Louisiana School Breakfast Challenge. Now in its third year, the Challenge is a statewide initiative to increase school breakfast participation hosted in partnership with Governor and First Lady Edwards, Dairy Max, Fuel Up to Play 60 and state agency partners.
266 schools from 26 parishes participated in this year’s breakfast challenge, which ran throughout the month of October. M.E. Norman Elementary School in St. Mary’s Parish was the statewide winner, increasing school breakfast participation by 48%. To honor this achievement, Dairy Max hosted a “Fuel Greatness Breakfast Games” pep rally at the school on Friday with New Orleans Saints defensive end Cam Jordan.
In addition, the top school in each of the following five regions will be awarded $1,000 cash prize:
- North West Region 1: Broadmoor Middle Laboratory School in Caddo Parish
- North East Region 2: Vidalia High School in Concordia Parish
- South West Region 3: Chataignier Elementary School in Evangeline Parish
- South Central Region 4: M.E. Norman Elementary School in St. Mary’s Parish
- South East Region 5: Holden High School in Livingston Parish
“The first lady and I congratulate the winners of this year’s Louisiana School Breakfast Challenge and applaud all the schools that participated for their commitment to making sure all students can start the day ready to learn,” said No Kid Hungry Louisiana State Director Rhonda Jackson. “School breakfast fuels kids to reach their full potential both inside and outside the classroom and that’s what we all want for our next generation.”
No Kid Hungry also announced last week that two Louisianans were inducted into its 2020 School Breakfast Hall of Fame. Claire Guarisco, the food nutrition service supervisor for St. Mary Parish and William G. Fields, principal of Sunset Acres Elementary School in Shreveport, were among 35 individuals across the country to receive this national recognition.
Breakfast is an energy source for kids, but 1 in 4 kids in Louisiana lives with hunger and may start the school day on an empty stomach. Research shows that hunger has long-term ramifications on children, including lower test scores, weaker attendance rates, and a higher risk of hospitalizations and chronic diseases.
No Kid Hungry Louisiana has teamed up with Governor and First Lady Edwards to expand access to the school breakfast program as critical way to end hunger. Accessing traditional cafeteria breakfast service can be challenging for many kids due to transportation delays, stigma and other barriers. Alternative breakfast models allow students to get breakfast after the school day starts in the classroom or from grab and go carts. This makes breakfast convenient and accessible to students, resulting in more kids starting the day ready to learn.
###