This year, 17 Nebraska schools competed to serve up wholesome breakfast meals in new and creative ways during the 2025 Nebraska School Breakfast Challenge! 6 rose above the rest to win cash prizes!
The challenge, which was hosted by the Nebraska Department of Education, Nebraska SNAC, and No Kid Hungry, took place during National School Breakfast Week (March 3-7, 2025). Schools volunteered to participate and earned points for things like piloting an alternative breakfast model such as Grab and Go, marketing their programs to students in new ways, inviting local elected officials or community leaders to breakfast, and more. Top point earners in student population categories received a monetary prize!
These 17 schools signed up to participate:
- Centennial Public School
- Chadron Intermediate & High School
- Clarkson Public School
- Dundy County Stratton Public Schools, Benkelman Elementary School
- Johnson-Brock Public School
- Mary Lynch Elementary & Jr/Sr. High, Kimball
- Laurel-Concord-Coleridge School, Laurel Campus
- Mead Public Schools
- CL Jones Middle School, Minden
- Prairie View Elementary, Ogallala
- Columbian Elementary, Omaha
- South High School, Omaha
- Golden Hills Elementary, Papillion La Vista
- Wilber-Clatonia Elementary
- Wilber-Clatonia Jr.-Sr. High School
- Wood River Elementary
- Wood River High School
The challenge ended March 7 and six schools’ scores pushed them to the top (all scores are out of 41 possible):
CHALLENGE WINNERS!
1-300 Students Size Category
- Dundy County Stratton Public Schools in Benkelman – 39 points
- Mary Lynch Elementary and Jr/Sr High, Kimball Public Schools in Kimball – 33 points
- Golden Hills Elementary, Papillion La Vista Community Schools in Bellevue – 27 points
301-600 Students Size Category
- Centennial Public School in Utica – 38 points
- Prairie View Elementary, Ogallala Public Schools in Ogallala – 9 points
601+ Students Size Category
South High School, Omaha Public Schools in Omaha – 9 points
Congrats to all our participants for trying something new, engaging more deeply with students, and helping more kids get the breakfast foods they need. We hope you and other schools in our state try out or continue the activities from this challenge (with help from our Challenge Toolkit) and apply them to their programs year-round!
Finally, here are some highlights from the participants!
