Project PA School Breakfast Resources
Project PA is committed to promoting school breakfast programs and offers resources to schools to facilitate this, as described below.
Creative School Breakfast Strategies
Project PA created these video clips for Teleconference 4, highlighting "creative strategies" used by Pennsylvania school foodservice directors to improve school meals participation.
Project PA/ Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association Breakfast Brigade
Pennsylvania Food Service Directors can provide free on-site technical assistance for Pennsylvania schools that want to start a breakfast program or increase participation in an existing program. To arrange for technical assistance, use the website link below and find a Breakfast Brigade Member near you to contact. Additional questions can be directed to Elaine McDonnell (etm101@psu.edu) or (814) 865-5869.
Project PA: Teleconference IV (on DVD): Increasing School Meals Participation: Creative Strategies That Work 2004
This DVD takes you on a tour of different schools throughout the Commonwealth so you can see and hear about innovative ways to offer breakfast, increase participation and overcome obstacles. The DVD includes Grab and Go Breakfast, Breakfast in the Classroom, and Breakfast After 1st Period. To obtain a copy, contact Evelyn Arnold (PDE) at (earnold@state.pa.us) or 1-800 331-0129, Ext. 2766533.
“Ideas from Massachusetts for Healthier Breakfasts”
Good ideas for a healthier breakfast from the Massachusetts Better Breakfast Initiative.
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Contains ideas for hot and cold breakfasts suitable for grab and go and breakfast in the classroom. Most of the suggestions came from actual menus in Wisconsin.
Food Research and Action Center (FRAC)
FRAC’s “Breakfast for Learning” Fact Sheet summarizes research linking breakfast consumption with improved academic performance, behavior, nutrient intake and Body Mass Index. The “School Breakfast” Fact Sheet includes information on benefits of breakfast, program eligibility, reimbursement and funding. FRAC also provides other breakfast information, including School Breakfast Scorecard and information about universal school breakfast.
“Got Breakfast” Foundation: Classroom Breakfast Playbook
The “Got Breakfast” Foundation can offer grants, funding opportunities, informational DVDs, consultation, and outreach tools to help implement classroom breakfast. Their “Classroom Breakfast Playbook” includes information on benefits of breakfast; obtaining staff support, meal distribution, staffing and clean-up, funding questions, case studies, and resources.
Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association
The Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association provides portable cooling equipment to help start up alternative breakfast service (Grab and Go, Breakfast in the Classroom, Breakfast After First Period). They can also provide a brochure “Got Breakfast, Get Brain Power,” that promotes school breakfast to parents.
National Dairy Council – Expanding Breakfast
Provides information about alternative breakfast systems. Includes information about the Expanding Breakfast Online Course, the Expanding Breakfast Program Kit and Video, answers to questions about expanding breakfast outside the cafeteria, key breakfast studies, fact sheets for various audiences, a backpack brochure, and Expanding Breakfast Champion Success Stories.
National Food Service Management Institute (NFSMI)
NFSMI provides a variety of information on school breakfast, including marketing breakfast, issues influencing participation, menu ideas, and serving meals to children with special needs.
Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center
The Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center works individually and in cooperation with other organizations to help establish new breakfast programs and increase attendance in existing programs. They will provide phone consultation, on-site visits, and help with staff education. For more information, contact Lindsay Briggs – 717-233-6705.
School Breakfast Fundamentals: Innovative Formulas for Breakfast Success – University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension
Provides examples of alternative ways to serve breakfast, each in a 2-page fact sheet. Each option has tips and describes the experience of a school using that model.
School Breakfast Program Cost/Benefit Analysis: Achieving a profitable SBP
This Wisconsin report documents a study that examined five questions:
1. What are the benefits of school breakfast programs (SBPs)?,
2 Do SBPs make money?,
3. What are the start-up costs?,
4. How can a SBP become profitable, and
5. How should a district evaluate an SBP?
School Breakfast Week – School Nutrition Association
Flyer, toolkit, activity suggestions and fact sheet promotional tools designed to increase participation in the School Breakfast Program, and to communicate all the advantages of a morning meal.
USDA Discover School Breakfast Tool Kit
This on line kit can help you start or increase participation in a school breakfast program, determine the type of meal service most suited to your needs, and develop a marketing plan. The kit includes parent and student surveys, worksheets to calculate revenue and costs, descriptions of various meal service options, problem solving and marketing ideas, resources, and evaluation.
USDA —Food and Nutrition Service - School Breakfast Program
Includes guidance materials, program history, regulations, menu planning information, income eligibility guidelines, and more.