Celebrate National School Breakfast Week
Schools provide nearly 12 million breakfasts to hungry children each day through the School Breakfast Program. On average, meals served as part of the School Breakfast Program are more nutritious than breakfast consumed elsewhere. This gives us reason to celebrate! Every March, the nation celebrates National School Breakfast Week (NSBW), which was launched in 1989 to raise awareness of the availability of the School Breakfast Program. During this week, schools put their breakfast programs on display through exciting contests and promotions.
- Work with your food service staff to brainstorm ideas for how your school can celebrate National School Breakfast Week.
- Celebration ideas may include:
- Provide teachers with educational resources for use during Breakfast in the Classroom to emphasize the importance of breakfast.
- Spruce up the cafeteria with NSBW posters, balloons, tablecloths or student artwork highlight healthy foods and the importance of breakfast. Or, plan a cafeteria makeover by painting murals or hanging permanent artwork.
- Invite a local celebrity to eat breakfast with students such as local athletes, news anchors, school mascot, etc.
- Plan to serve a special item during NSBW or rename existing menu items with fun and creative names. Get students involved by holding school-wide contests and votes on new names and menu ideas.
- Invite teachers, coaches, the principal or other guest servers to serve breakfast to students.
- Host a taste test of new breakfast items or easy on-the-go breakfast options such as smoothies.
- Make morning announcements highlighting the importance of breakfast.
- Host a family breakfast where parents and siblings can eat together in the cafeteria.
- Create a healthy breakfast bulletin board in the cafeteria.
- Bring breakfast into the learning environment – for example, during math, work with students to research the number of calories they ate for breakfast this morning and graph the class’ favorite breakfast foods.
- Host a social media contest where students post pictures of their healthy school breakfast to earn prizes.
Align your celebrations with this years’ NSBW theme selected by the School Nutrition Association.
Promote your school breakfast program and NSBW on your school’s social media pages, school newsletter and to your PTA/PTO to reach parents and the community.
Help everyone understand the importance of school breakfast – Provide professional development to all school staff, including food service staff.
If your school hasn’t started doing Breakfast in the Classroom, Grab & Go or Second Chance Breakfast, use this week as an opportunity to educate school staff and families on the benefits of alternative breakfast models (which includes providing more kids with another healthy, nutritious meal!).