Learn
more about the breakfast innovations that schools with high breakfast participation have incorporated to increase the number of students eating breakfast
Explore
the recommended resources and funding sources to help schools make changes to increase breakfast program participation
Apply
for the grants to help implement school breakfast innovations
Seek
technical assistance and breakfast resources from ESE’s Child Nutrition Outreach Program (CNOP)
Execute
the changes needed to put the recommended innovations into practice
Serve
a variety of quality hot and cold breakfast items, from healthy breakfast burritos to fresh fruits and veggies, and limit processed foods
Meet
the Massachusetts School Breakfast Challenge and increase the school district’s breakfast participation by 35%
Win
awards, recognition, and prizes for successfully meeting and sustaining the goal
Innovations in School Breakfast
Schools experience a greater increase in breakfast participation when they serve higher quality breakfast items and incorporate alternative breakfast delivery methods, rather than the traditional model of breakfast served in the cafeteria.
Breakfast is pre-packaged by the food service staff and is served from a mobile cart. The cart can be placed in numerous locations throughout the school building including the building entrance or any high traffic area where students congregate. Students have the ability to grab breakfast and eat in the hall, the classroom, or even outside depending on the school’s policy. This convenient service method is popular with middle and high school students who find that they can consume breakfast while continuing to socialize with their peers.
Students arrive at their classrooms to find breakfast delivered by mobile cart or insulated cooler bags. They eat breakfast at their desks, and many schools incorporate Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC) into instructional time by serving breakfast during morning announcements, reading time, or nutrition lessons. Most elementary schools find this alternative serving method convenient since it provides increased structure for their young students.
Often students are in a rush to get to class in the morning, and many simply are not hungry before school starts. By offering a “second chance” breakfast, students are able to pick up a pre-packaged breakfast from a mobile cart after first period. This method allows schools to reach as many hungry students as possible.
School Breakfast Resources
School Breakfast Guides and Toolkits from Share Our Strength
"A number of organizations and school districts have developed guides or tool kits to help facilitate efforts to expand in-classroom and other effective school breakfast models. While tailored to different audiences and locations, most guides emphasize the importance of breakfast for children's health, development and academic performance; discuss the barriers to participating in school breakfast programs; introduce different models of serving breakfast that have proven to be effective in increasing program participation; and provide practical tips for addressing implementation challenges.”
"Energize Your Day With School Breakfast" Toolkit
USDA Food and Nutrition Service
This toolkit includes a collection of resources that school food service directors, program operators, and other stakeholders may use to establish or expand the breakfast service within their school There are numerous worksheets, surveys, planning tools, and extensive marketing materials to help you implement and spread the word about your School Breakfast Program.
Administrators: Resources for implementing alternative breakfast models
The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) has compiled ideas for leadership lessons, strategies for success, and funding to help improve the attendance, health, and behavior of students by moving breakfast out of the cafeteria.
The United State Department of Agriculture
(USDA) offers many breakfast resources to help you assess your breakfast program, involve key stakeholders, and implement strategies for expanding breakfast participation. Several other organizations have developed resources to guide schools through the process of implementing these School Breakfast Program innovations. We recommended some of our favorites below.
Breakfast in the Classroom and Grab ‘n Go Breakfast Resources
- NEW! Best Practices and Success Stories Toolkit (pdf) includes:
- Step-by-step guides on how to create and distribute a menu and satisfaction surveys (including templates);
- Tips on how to conduct successful focus groups; and
- Ways to collect stories to celebrate your successes.
- Breakfast in the Classroom Toolkit from University of WI Extension
- The Food Research and Action Center Guide to Breakfast in the Classroom
- School Nutrition Association Breakfast in the Classroom Resource Center
- MA Child Nutrition Outreach Program’s Guide to Breakfast in the Classroom
- Fuel Up to Play 60 Playbook for Healthy Eating
- National Assoc. of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) Foundation's site for BIC
Breakfast after the Bell Resources
Starting a new School Breakfast Program
- CNOP's Step by Step Guide to getting started
Professional Development Resources for School Nutrition staff
Technical Assistance for expanding or starting a SBP
- Contact the MA Child Nutrition Outreach Program