January 23, 2014
We’ve had a lot to say about school breakfast over the years – teaming up with Advocates for Children of New Jersey on their “NJ Food for Though School Breakfast Campaign” – and it’s why we’re especially proud to share this video of Denise King, Principal of the Bernice B. Young School in Burlington Township, in which she talks about the success of her school’s “Breakfast After the Bell” effort.
Here’s what they did: students eligible to receive free or reduced price breakfast at school were allowed to sit together at a table in the back of the classroom where they could have a healthy meal while doing their school work. Students who did not opt for daily breakfast, instead stayed at their desks and continued their work there. The disruption to the classroom is minimal and any stigma associated with the reduced price meal is greatly reduced by sitting together among other students.
In the end, students are getting a healthier start which studies (and common sense) show makes them feel better, think more clearly, behave more kindly, and be more enthusiastic about learning.
Of course, the work to get breakfast in front of more New Jersey students who need it is far from over. If you’d like to support the work of the “Food for Thought School Breakfast Campaign”, email Hans Dekker at hdekker@cfnj.org.
Filed under: Education