Start Your Engines for #NSBW19

Date: January 14, 2019 Posted by Amy Mail Twitter Facebook

Did you know that National School Breakfast Week was established by an Act of Congress in 1975? If Congress recognizes it, your district should too!

The annual commemoration, to be celebrated March 4-8, 2019, is a great time to raise awareness for your school breakfast program and increase participation. Nationally, more than 14 million students participate in school breakfasts because school breakfast is easy, convenient and nutritious. Those students are better off than those who skip breakfast because research shows that students who eat breakfast:

• Reach higher levels of achievement in reading and math
• Score higher on standardized tests
• Have better concentration and memory
• Are more alert and maintain a healthy weight

The School Nutrition Association has many resources for you to make the most of National School Breakfast Week, including a toolkit with many suggestions for leveraging social media and news media, and graphics to use on websites and in-school displays. This year's theme is "Start Your Engines with School Breakfast." If you incorporate School Breakfast Week into your social media posts, remember to mark them with #NSBW19!

Also, share your plans for National School Breakfast Week with the School Nutrition Association. It's currently seeking entries in a contest in which you could win a gift certificate to the SNA Emporium. Deadline to enter is Monday, February 4. You can also share your photos and comments with snmagazine@schoolnutrition.org after NSBW, which could be included in a future issue of School Nutrition Magazine.

If you're seeking ways to improve and simplify your breakfast program, we recommend you start with our Breakfast Menu Builder - version 2.0 recently launched. This tool allows you to create a month or more of USDA-compliant breakfast offerings in a matter of minutes. With our market basket synced to your distributor, the menu planning process is completely in-step with your distributor orders. Contact us for a demo of the Breakfast Menu Builder today!

We also have a few other resources to help streamline your program and promote it:

• Tip Sheet: Building Breakfast Participation is as Easy as 1-2-3
• Cafeteria Connection (our customizable newsletter for your district to send to parents): School Breakfast: A time-saving, nutritious choice
• YouTube Video: School Breakfast: a convenient, inexpensive, time-saving option

Of course, we're always available to consult on challenges you're facing. Contact us for whatever foodservice support you need! We're available via chat here on the website, via email or phone (844-204-2847).