As a principal, you are the leader of your school campus. Your role is key to all aspects of student performance, particularly ensuring school nutrition supports the success of your students. Breakfast can make an important difference in your school community. Research shows that schools that offer breakfast have an increase in API scores, less trips to the school nurse, fewer absences and less tardiness. Consider making the School Breakfast Program your top priority. There are many innovative ways you can support increasing access, participation, and quality in the School Breakfast Program.

Here are a few ideas:

Bring the School Breakfast Program to your campus. If your school does not offer breakfast, you can work with the school food services director to bring this nutrition resource to your school site. Every recent study clearly shows pockets of hunger – needy kids – across the state, even in affluent areas.

Families with hectic mornings and long commutes may also not be able to fit a complete, nutritious breakfast into their morning routine. For them, the later school breakfast can be a healthy meal at the right time for their kids, giving them peace of mind about their child’s eating habits. Every school, including those with small percentages of free and reduced price students, must offer breakfast. Principals are critical to starting the breakfast program.

Support your school trying out different ways to increase participation:

• In conjunction with your district's food service director or designated staff person, you can use existing student forums, parent-teacher nights and other community events to actively involve students, teachers and parents in tasting foods and assisting with menu development on a regular basis
• If your school site has a free and reduced price population of at least 80%, learn about Provision 2/3 to eliminate tickets, pricing, and long lines. This option will feed all your students for free and ensure that they are eating at school!  By using the Provisions, you will increase your percentage of students qualifying and participating in school meals – bumping your Title I numbers – as well as reducing paperwork in your office, because applications are required only once every three years.
• Give Universal Classroom Breakfast a try! Your support is needed to begin serving breakfast in the classroom and reaching nearly 100% participation.
• Consider offering Second Chance/Recess Breakfast. Many principals support recess breakfast because it replaces cookie and snack sales with a nutritious meal, as well as gives kids who arrived late a second chance to eat a healthy breakfast.
• Consider offering Grab ‘n Go breakfasts on the run. As you know, crowded campuses with multiple entrances make it difficult for every child to eat breakfast in the cafeteria before school starts. The Grab ‘n Go model offers a simple breakfast at each entrance.
• Consider offering Breakfast on the Bus for those students with long morning commutes to school (click here). Transportation schedules are complicated and often result in some kids not having enough time to eat breakfast. A simple brown bag breakfast can assure all kids coming from long distances are ready to learn each morning.

Ask your district to apply for a California Department of Education breakfast start-up or expansion grant to fund your innovative ideas. Grants of up to $15,000 are available for each school site and you only need 20% FRP (click here).

Coordinate with California Nutrition Network staff at your school (if you have one) to incorporate consistent breakfast messages into their classroom education programs and parent education materials.

Invite parents to eat breakfast. As you know, parental support is key to any changes on your campus. Parents’ trust of the school breakfast program can be improved through simply inviting them to sample the healthy choices offered and giving them the chance to meet cafeteria staff.

Lastly, please join the BreakfastFirst Campaign. Click here to get involved and provide us your ideas!