School breakfast goes beyond the food. It is also a great time for kids to socialize. My daughter has met two of her best friends in the cafeteria. Even though they have been in separate classes, and have different schedules, they still reconnected these past 5 years over the breakfast tables at school. This time with friends encourages students to arrive at school early, eat healthy and start the day off right.
I was pleased to recently learn more about Fuel Up to Play 60, the leading in-school health and wellness program. The program is a partnership between National Dairy Council (NDC) and National Football League (NFL), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and is administered in the Southeast by SUDIA (Southeast United Dairy Industry Association).
Atlanta Falcons' Defensive Tackle Grady Jarrett poses with SUDIA and USDA staff at the Atlanta Falcons' #FuelGreatness Breakfast Party.A Fuel Up to Play 60 event took place recently on March 10th at Westside Middle School, in Winder, GA Barrow County, to observe National School Breakfast Week. The students loved visits by Falcons player and Conyers native Grady Jarrett and the antics of the beloved mascot Freddie Falcon, while they enjoyed a Brunch for Lunch menu: yogurt parfaits, scrambled eggs, grits, biscuits, fresh fruit and a variety of flavored milks and juices.
Atlanta Falcons mascot Freddie Falcon has an aside with Westside Middle's assistant principal Trey NeupartFrom October 2014 to October 2015, Westside Middle School increased its breakfast participation by 37 percent—the highest increase among schools in the state of Georgia--making it the winner of the 2015 Atlanta Falcons #FuelGreatness Breakfast Contest. In 2016, the Barrow County School System started a district-wide school breakfast program, offering free breakfast to all students, regardless of family income.
“We now offer traditional breakfast in the cafeteria, breakfast in the classroom, at kiosks throughout the schools for a quick grab and go breakfast and second-chance breakfast in the high schools for students after first block,” said Barrow County Director of School Nutrition Pamela LeFrois. “It has been an overwhelming success—breakfast participation increased 58.5 percent [district wide] in the first 100 days of school. Parents have called this office to let us know how much their children are enjoying breakfast. They thank us for allowing them to have one less thing to worry about each morning. I know how important breakfast is to a hungry child. A hungry child can’t focus and pay attention on schoolwork if their stomach is growling."
Westside Middle's #FUTP60 Ambassadors say cheese with Atlanta Falcons mascot Freddie Falcon.It’s easy to see why (school) breakfast is the most important meal of the day! So what can we do as parents and teachers?
Fuel Up to Play 60 provides schools with opportunities to apply for funding, including the recently announced $35 million in grants aimed at helping schools update or upgrade their existing kitchen equipment together with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), GENYOUth Foundation and the NFL.
Get in the game and enroll in Fuel Up to Play 60 NOW by visiting
www.FuelUpToPlay60.com or the following links:
Students – https://www.fueluptoplay60.com/get-involved/students
Parents/Supporters – https://www.fueluptoplay60.com/get-involved/parents/
Teachers – https://www.fueluptoplay60.com/get-involved/educators
Community Members – https://www.fueluptoplay60.com/get-involved/community-members
Join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and show us how YOU Fuel Greatness with breakfast using #FuelGreatness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J81sIjaUH-Q
The author was compensated for this article. All opinions are her own.
