School Breakfast – TrayTalk.org

Teaming Up Nutrition and Athletics to Boost Performance

The Elbert County School District nutrition department in Georgia is demonstrating how a partnership with the athletics department can drive success both on the field and in the cafeteria.

Led by School Nutrition Director Bridgette Matthews, a registered dietitian and sports enthusiast, the initiative links nutrition directly to student-athlete performance.

“When our new football coach joined in 2020, we had a long conversation about changing the culture of the program,” Matthews said. “We knew it started with the basics of good nutrition. What goes in the body is what we get out on the field.”

School Meal Planners Share Lunch Tray Ideas for the Fall

Earlier this summer, Alamo City served up more than just Tex-Mex; it provided inspiration and fresh recipe ideas to fuel school nutrition teams from across the country.

More than 6,000 school nutrition professionals gathered in San Antonio from July 13–15 for the School Nutrition Association’s (SNA) Annual National Conference (ANC), the largest event of its kind in the country. ANC gave attendees a firsthand look at the tools, techniques, and tastes shaping the school meals.

School meal planners filled the nation’s largest exhibit hall in school nutrition to visit nearly 360 exhibits. From the moment doors opened, attendees sampled new recipes, foods and beverages for lunch trays, previewed cutting-edge kitchen equipment to help prepare and serve meals and exchanged ideas on replicating restaurant trends to meet school nutrition guidelines.

Keeping MS Students Excited with New Menu Options

Scratch-made tomato bisque, charcuterie trays and peanut butter yogurt dip are just a few of the new offerings on the menu for students of DeSoto County Schools in Mississippi. This year, Child Nutrition Director Alex Hallmark hired a registered dietitian and worked with the district’s nutrition team to update breakfast and lunch options so the students would not get bored with school meals. Student feedback has been so positive, that many of the dishes are being served regularly, with new ideas in the works for the future.

Iron Chef Breakfast Competition in NY School

Hosting Iron Chef-style competitions has become an anticipated special event for Mechanicville City School District students in New York. Deborah Mackey, Food Service Director in the district, helps to put on about four each year, typically giving student teams a specific ingredient to include for a lunch dish. Past competitions have featured locally grown beef and apples, but the focus has never previously been on breakfast.

Mackey introduced the idea recently and held a breakfast competition to lead up to National School Breakfast Week (NSBW), a great opportunity for students to try new menu items and focus on the importance of breakfast.

Breakfast is a Welcome Addition to School Routines

School breakfast offers quick and easy solutions for families to make sure students start their rushed mornings with a balanced meal. This year, an increasing number of students have access to free breakfast as more states are providing meals at no cost for all students. Schools in Pennsylvania and Connecticut are seeing great benefits from students and their teachers.

According to Kristina Roberge, Food Service Coordinator for Groton Public Schools (CT), parents say their children want to get to school with plenty of time to head to the cafeteria for breakfast.

Student Volunteers Show Appreciation to Food Servers

Seventh and eighth-graders in Donegal Junior High School (PA) found a hands-on way to recognize the friendly faces in their school cafeteria last month. Members of the Builders Club, a student-led organization providing opportunities to perform service, build character and develop leadership skills, asked their advisor if they could volunteer with the Donegal School District nutrition team and assist them with lunch and breakfast service.

The Builders Club, a middle school division of the Key Club, used the national theme of “Be Kind to Food Servers Month” to show their appreciation for the nutrition team for the second year in a row.

Composting in Montana Cafeterias

With several elementary schools in Bozeman School District 7 (Montana) successfully composting for a few years, the district’s nutrition department teamed up with a local business to bring composting to all 12 of its cafeterias and central kitchen facility this year.

Since the start of this school year, more than 27,000 pounds of food scraps have been collected and diverted from the landfill. The nutrition department now uses biodegradable paper products that can also be composted.

Students Help Pick New Menu Items

Thanks to the special efforts of their classmates this summer, Littleton Public Schools students in CO will see some new breakfast and lunch items on their menus. During summer break, six Littleton students had an exclusive opportunity to join their school nutrition department at the nation’s largest K-12 food and exhibit show, School Nutrition Association’s Annual National Conference, with the mission to assist in taste-testing potential new menu items.

Tennessee Students Get Hands-on for Breakfast Week

Morgan County students really dig school breakfast – more than 90% of students in the eastern Tennessee district have breakfast at school every day. To celebrate the benefits of school breakfast, Morgan County Schools planned a jam-packed week of celebrations for National School Breakfast Week (NSBW), March 6-10, 2023. They are embracing the theme “Dig In To School Breakfast” at all seven schools in the district.

National School Breakfast Week Around the Country

To celebrate school breakfast and the people who prepare and serve meals to children across the country, National School Breakfast Week 2022 was held March 7-11 with the theme “Take Off with School Breakfast.” From the kitchens to the cafeteria lines, so many creative examples have been seen showcasing the importance of breakfast.