1. Healthy Breakfast. Everywhere You Go.
School Breakfast Presentation for Schools & Communities
Hi, my name is ___________ and I’m a ______________ (RDN, DTR, intern, etc.). I am a member for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and I’ve come to speak to you today about healthy breakfasts for kids.
Note to RDN: Relate breakfast to a current event if possible—back to school if in the fall, testing if in the spring, eating healthy and athletes and relate it to a sport, etc.
20 minute presentation + optional 10 minute activity
Note to RDN: Objectives for this presentation include that by the end of the presentation, participants will be able to:
Name at least two reasons why eating breakfast every day is important for children.
Name at least two healthy breakfast options for children at school.
Identify at least one way to help increase breakfast consumption among children.  
Thanks so much for joining me today to talk about School Breakfast – and how important this nutrition program is for children and teens in our community.

2. As illustrated in this fun graphic from the School Nutrition Association’s National School Breakfast Week in March 2016, morning meals at school help children be fit, well-nourished, and ready to learn.
Whether children eat at home or school, breakfast helps young people feel readyfor their busy days – playing, reading, writing, running, dreaming, and learning.

3. Agenda Why What How Benefits and trends in breakfast
Types of breakfast served in schools
How
State of breakfast in our schools
During our time together today, we’ll cover three important issues:
WHY – the multiple benefits and current trends in breakfast consumption
WHAT – the different types of breakfast served in schools to increase participation
HOW – after this background, we discuss the school breakfast issues and opportunities in our community
Throughout our time together today, I welcome your questions about breakfast and the success of our children.

4. The Most Important Meal of the Day
BREAKFAST
You’ve probably heard - perhaps from your own mother - that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
While good nutrition is important in every meal that a child eats, research shows that breakfast does have some very important benefits – as we will discuss in a few moments.
Breakfast is especially important considering some of the health, nutrition, and education gaps that are facing our children today.

5. Health Gaps
Increasing rates of childhood obesity and overweight over the past 2 decades
Increasing number of young people with Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and arthritis
Increasing disordered eating patterns in children and adolescents
As you undoubtedly already know, youth in the US are facing a weight, nutrition, and health crisis – a crisis that affects everything from how well children perform in school to the rising cost of health care.
Childhood weight has become an increasing concern, as the rates of obesity and overweight have doubled and tripled among some groups.
At the same time, chronic diseases – conditions that we used see in middle-aged and older adults – are now showing up in school-aged children. Type 2 diabetes, heart-disease risk factors like hypertension, and arthritis are three examples of this unfortunate trend.
Sadly, there has also been an increase in youth with eating problems and disorders, including anorexia and bulimia. As an example, the rates of hospitalizations for these disorders has increased over 100% in children under 12 years of age.

6. Breakfast Nutrient Gaps Whole grain cereal Milk or yogurt and Fruit
2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
Advisory Committee Report
More plant foods, incl. whole grains and fruits
Nutrients of Concern
Vitamin D, Calcium, Potassium,
and Dietary Fiber
Breakfast
Whole grain cereal
Milk or yogurt and Fruit
In fact, for a variety of reasons children in our country are actually undernourished, even when they may be overfed or overweight.
The most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) highlighted this problem by naming four nutrients of concern, for both adults and children. Consumption of vitamin D, calcium, potassium, and dietary fiber is so low that it may compromise children’s health today and tomorrow. When seeking more fiber from whole grains, look for at least 3 grams of fiber on the Nutrition Facts Label as a good rule-of-thumb.
Actually, the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Advisory Committee Report named several other shortfall nutrients for youth, noting that teen girls tend to be more undernourished than any other age-gender group.
Focusing on the importance of eating more plant-based foods, the DGAs also noted how simple it can be for young people to fill their nutrient gaps with tasty, nutrient-rich foods. For example, all of the shortfall nutrients can be provided by a simple, tasty breakfast of whole grain cereal, low-fat milk or yogurt, and fruit.

7. Achievement Gaps
In addition to health gaps and nutrient gaps, we have all heard about the achievement gap in many of America’s schools, especially those in low income areas.
Unfortunately, many of the students in these schools are also at higher risk for being overweight, undernourished, and having chronic disease conditions.
The good news is that research indicates that breakfast, including a nutrient-rich school breakfast, can help to fill all of these gaps.
Let’s take a few moments to discuss some of this research.

8. Breakfast Benefits
Breakfast eaters are significantly less likely to be overweight
Adolescents who eat breakfast tend to have lower BMI’s
Skipping breakfast is associated with a higher risk of being overweight
Girls who eat breakfast are more likely to have a lower BMI than girls who skip a morning meal
Many young women skip breakfast in effort to manage weight
Over the past several decades, significant research has been done on the benefits of breakfast consumption in both children and adults.
Several consistent patterns have emerged in the breakfast research related to weight:
Breakfast eaters are significantly less likely to be overweight
To put another way, skipping breakfast is associated with a higher risk of being overweight.
Specifically, adolescents who eat breakfast tend to have lower BMI’s
Girls who eat breakfast are more likely to have a lower BMI than girls who skip a morning meal.
As you may be aware, many young women skip breakfast in effort to manage weight, increasing their nutrient gaps and potentially leading to eating disorders.

9. Breakfast Benefits Children with access to school breakfast
Eat more fruit, drink more milk and eat a wider variety of foods
Better nutrient intakes than skippers
More nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, including calcium, fiber, folate, and protein
Research on school breakfast has also revealed some important trends relating to the nutritional intake of children and teens.
Children with access to school breakfast generally:
Eat more fruit, drink more milk, and eat a wider variety of foods.
Breakfast eaters have better nutrient intakes than skippers
They consume more nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, including calcium, fiber, folate, and protein.
These studies confirm that children who eat breakfast, including a school breakfast, come closer to meeting the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans than those who skip breakfast.

10. Breakfast Benefits School breakfast improves performance Test Results
Memory
Fewer mistakes
Improvement on concentration
Improved test results, as well as memory and verbal skills
Improved speed and memory on cognitive tests
Fewer mistakes and faster work in math and number checking
Improvement on concentration for mental tasks and reaction to frustration
Importantly for educators, school breakfast has been shown in numerous studies to be brain food that helps improve student performance.
In fact, everyone is the room knows about this research – whether you are award of the details or not. We know this because every school in America acknowledges the importance of breakfast on test days – when children are told to get a good night’s sleep and eat a well-balanced breakfast.
While breakfast on test days is important, it is more important for students to eat breakfast every school day, because breakfast improved performance. Research has shown that breakfast results in:
Improved test results, as well as memory and verbal skills
Improved speed and memory on cognitive tests
Fewer mistakes and faster work in math and number checking
Improvement on concentration for mental tasks and reaction to frustration

11. Breakfast Benefits School breakfast improves behavior
Reduced rates of absence and tardiness
Reduced discipline referrals to principal and school nurses’ visits
Reduced classroom behavioral problems
Other improvements have also been observed in schools will breakfast programs, especially universal breakfast programs in high risk schools where all children have the opportunity to have breakfast in the classroom.
School breakfast helps to improve many key behaviors affecting education, including:
Reduced rates of absence and tardiness
Reduced discipline referrals to principal and school nurses’ visits
Reduced classroom behavioral problems

12. Breakfast Trends Frequently skipped meal Varies by demographics
Breakfast skipping grows as children grow
33 percent of young children skip breakfast
Number grows to 50 percent in middle school and 64 percent among high school students
Varies by demographics
41% African American
58% Hispanic
33% Low-income Whites
33% Medium-income African American
We all know from our own experience that breakfast is frequently skipped. A large 2011 survey by Kellogg’s reveled that the consumption of breakfast dips as children get older.
Only 77 percent of young children eat breakfast every day
The 2010 Kids Eat Right Survey “The State of Family Nutrition and Physical Activity: Are We Making Progress? revealed that breakfast consumption also varies by demographic group – as you can see here.
The mot unfortunate things about these statistics is that many of these students are eligible for the free or reduced price breakfast at school, which can provide many key nutrients missing in their day.

13. Filling Critical Gaps for Children and Teens
SCHOOL BREAKFAST
Filling Critical Gaps for Children and Teens
At Risk

14. School Breakfast Mornings are rushed
Students do not eat at home because:
Mornings are rushed
Families are unable to afford food
Some children aren’t hungry early
Long bus rides to school
A school breakfast is important for millions of children who do not eat at home in the morning.
In the Kellogg’s survey mentioned previously, 89 percent of moms wanted their children to eat breakfast every day, but only 40 percent reported that their children ate breakfast before leaving for school.
For today’s time-crunched, budget-challenged families, there are many reason’s for this breakfast “gap,” including:
In many homes, school mornings are rushed.
Sadly, there are many families that are simply unable to afford food.
Some children, especially tweens and teens, aren’t hungry early in the morning.
Some children may also have long bus rides to school.
You can highlight any of the reasons for breakfast skipping that may be more common in your community.

15. There are so many ways to serve it.
School Breakfast
There are so many ways to serve it.
There are many ways to serve breakfast in schools.
While breakfast in the cafeteria may seem like the most logical, many schools have found that alternative forms of breakfast service are actually more effective and easier to integrate into the busy school day.
Some of the alternative forms of school breakfast delivery include:
Grab-and-go in the cafeteria
Grab-and-go in the hallway
Vended breakfast
Breakfast in the Classroom
In the lower right photo on this page, you can see children lined up in an Ohio school to pick up breakfast in a school cafeteria and bring it back to their classrooms. Breakfast in the classroom generally takes about 10 minutes to serve and eat, and is often done during morning activities. Usually it takes time for children to settle in at the beginning of the day, and many teachers find that classroom breakfast is a successful transitional activity. Teachers report they have actually gained instructional time due to fewer nurse visits, and less tardiness and absenteeism.
Recognizing the importance of morning nutrition to learning and performance on standardized tests, several State Superintendents of Education, including California, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, have issued policy memos clarifying that classroom breakfast can meet the requirements of instructional time.

16. School Breakfast changes
school year:
Offer only fat-free (unflavored or flavored) and low-fat (unflavored) milk.
school year:
Half of all grains offered must be whole grain-rich.
Calorie and grain ranges (minimum and maximum) go into effect.
Zero grams trans-free per serving.
school year:
Fruit offered increases to minimum 1 cup per day.
At least ½ cup of fruit must be selected to count as a reimbursable meal.
All grains must be whole grain-rich.
Sodium targets ( mg) go into effect.
School breakfast programs are administered by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which has made changes to the breakfast nutrition standards that have been implemented over the past few years.

17. State of Breakfast in Our Schools
Do our schools currently serve breakfast?
How many schools have a breakfast program?
What type of breakfast is served in our schools?
Does our school breakfast program meet the need?
Should we expand our school breakfast programs?
What resources do we need to expand breakfast?
Expertise
Information
Materials
Support
OPTIONAL ACTIVITY: 10 minutes
Note: If you are not doing an optional activity, please delete this slide and move on to the summary on the next slide.
Note to presenter:
Using Page 2 of the participant handout, this discussion can be adapted to fit the needs of the group – and the time available for discussion.
Consider beforehand what you want the outcome of the discussion to be. Some possibilities might be:
A presentation to the school board/committee in support of school breakfast
A community coalition to expand breakfast in your schools
An outreach effort to increase participation in existing breakfast programs
It is important to have as much information about current breakfast programs available for the participants. This can be done in several different ways:
Invite school nutrition director to present the details verbally
Insert a few additional slides with details about your schools
Provide details in a written format
Now that we have briefly reviewed the need for school breakfast – to fill multiple gaps in the lives of at-risk children – and the negative trends in breakfast consumption, it’s time for us to think about this information in terms of our own community.
Breakfast is indeed brain power for children – whether they eat at home or at school. As a community, we can come together and see if the breakfast needs of our children, especially at-risk youth, are being met.
As we take a few minutes to discuss this issues, let’s remember to keep our eyes on the prize: Children who are fit, well-nourished, ready to learn.

18. Summary
Thanks so much for attending today’s presentation – and for your interest in school breakfast as a strategy for helping to prevent childhood obesity, promote better nutrition, and support academic success.
Handouts:
Healthy Breakfast handout from toolkit
Optional: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Power Up with Breakfast handout (available in English and Spanish)

19. Thank You!
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