Breakfast In the Classroom a Big Win at Oxford – Lakeville Elementary
No Kid Hungry Michigan is excited to present the next entry in a new blog series highlighting the 2022 No Kid Hungry Michigan School Breakfast Heroes. Join us to learn more about how these Heroes throughout Michigan’s school kitchens and cafeterias increased breakfast participation within their schools and districts, and see what steps you can take to increase breakfast participation in your school. For the complete list of 2022 No Kid Hungry Michigan School Breakfast Heroes, please visit our page here.
Lakeville Elementary school in Oxford has a true community feel. One important statistic to highlight is the success of breakfast participation for students. Throughout the 2021 school year, Lakeville Elementary school was serving an average of 436 students for breakfast each day. This is an amazing 79% increase in Breakfast Average Daily Participation (ADP) as compared to breakfast meals served in 2019.
To learn more, No Kid Hungry Michigan’s Mindy Grant met with Patty Silorey, Director of Nutrition Services for Oxford Community Schools. Silorey explained that Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC) had begun with the start of the pandemic, and the whole school had really worked together to smooth out the program and make sure that every child had breakfast. Silorey said, “The principal worked with us, and the teachers were so great, and by having breakfast in the classroom [daily] almost every kid was eating!”.
When COVID restrictions were lifted, breakfast was supposed to be served directly in the cafeteria as dictated by previous operations. However, due to the success of BIC, Silorey explained that the school administration and teachers decided that they would keep breakfast going in the classroom.
The students play a big role in having breakfast directly in the classroom. Silorey said, “Student helpers even help load up bins in the morning to fill up milk and juice for delivery.”
She also noted that during the second year of BIC, the Nutrition team asked the teachers to monitor and count which students wanted breakfast to get a more accurate count; the outcome of this was a reduction in waste. For any students that aren’t hungry at the moment or change their mind, they are allowed to go down to the cafeteria to receive breakfast. “No student is turned away,” explained Silorey.
As far as the other school officials and staff making breakfast happen, Silorey shared that there was only one staff person organizing breakfast each morning, and one custodian to assist with clean up, but that everyone is on board. It is truly a team effort at Oxford Lakeville Elementary!
