SCCPSS: National School Breakfast Week Campaign Encourages Students To “Take Off” With School Breakfast

Press release from Savannah-Chatham County Public School System:

3/1/2022

To encourage more families to take advantage of the healthy choices available with school breakfast, Savannah Chatham Public Schools will celebrate National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) March 7-11, 2022.

Busy weekday mornings make it a challenge for many families to find time for a healthy breakfast. Fortunately, Savannah Chatham Public Schools offer nutritious school breakfasts, complete with fruit and low-fat or fat-free milk, to ensure students are fueled for learning every school day.  This year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is allowing all children to receive school breakfast and lunch for free, without an application, so it's a great time for families to give school breakfast a try.  Studies show that students who eat school breakfast are more likely to:

• Reach higher levels of achievement in reading and math
• Score higher on standardized tests
• Have better concentration and memory
• Be more alert
• Maintain a healthy weight

 The NSBW campaign theme, “Take Off with School Breakfast," reminds the entire school community that school breakfast provides a healthy and energizing start to the day for students. School nutrition professionals and students will be encouraged to show their enthusiasm for school breakfast from March 7-11 as the district celebrates NSBW with special menus, activities, giveaways and more.

“A healthy breakfast at the start of the day is a great way to ensure students have the opportunity to be alert to receive the best education they can," said Onetha Bonaparte, School Nutrition Director. “National School Breakfast Week helps us educate parents and students about all the healthy, great tasting, and appealing choices we offer at breakfast."

The district serves over 15,000 breakfast meals daily through the federally funded School Breakfast Program. School nutrition professionals in SCCPSS prepare breakfast and lunches every day that meet federal nutrition standards – limiting fat, calories, and sodium – while encouraging students to choose from the fruits, vegetables and whole grains offered with school meals.

School breakfast participation nationally has been growing, and several strategies exist to increase it further, including the use of breakfast in the classroom, “grab and go," and second chance breakfast. Savannah-Chatham County Public School System has implemented grab and go throughout all or most of its schools and offers breakfast at no charge to all students in all its schools. These strategies have been the key drivers in Savannah-Chatham County Public School System's increased school breakfast participation rate. 

This press release was produced by Savannah-Chatham County Public School System. The views expressed here are the author’s own.