Next week March 6-10 is National School Breakfast week. Here in Brunswick County, our schools are celebrating by having “breakfast for lunch” on Monday. If you have kids in school, encourage them to try this special lunch to see what foods are available for breakfast.
Every school in Brunswick County has breakfast available every day. Right now only about 35% of the students participate in school breakfast. This year breakfast is available free of charge to all students.
Studies have shown 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
This year’s theme for National School Breakfast week is “Dig into School
Breakfast”. This theme focuses on children’s fascination with construction
and building. The goal of this campaign is to celebrate the many ways that
students can “construct” a healthy meal that will serve as the “foundation” for “towering achievements” at school. In addition, to using the construction theme, the idea of convey the message of the roles of different nutrition—protein, vitamins, fiber and calcium—in building a healthy body.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more and more students are starting their day with a nutritious breakfast in their school cafeterias. The School Breakfast Program serves more than 14 million students every day nationwide. National School Breakfast Week is a way to educate both parents and students about all the nutritious and delicious choices offered here in Brunswick County.
All school breakfasts must contain a fruit, whole grains, a protein source and fat-free or low-fat milk. Typical breakfast menu choices here in Brunswick County include whole grain chicken or sausage biscuits, waffles, cereal, muffins, pancake sausage sticks, whole grain bagels and yogurt cup. Brunswick County families can look online to see the what’s on the menu for both school breakfast and lunch.
Members of our Extension Family and Consumer Science staff along with our Extension Master Food Volunteers will be going into several of the schools next week. They will be working with the school lunch staff to help students learn the components of building a good breakfast.
Cheryle Syracuse wrote this article and more similar ones for the Family and Consumer Sciences Column in the Brunswick Beacon. Syracuse is an FCS team member and can be reached at N.C. Cooperative Extension, Brunswick County Center, 910.253.2610 or by email at cheryle_syracuse@ncsu.e du.
