Students power up during National School Breakfast Week

From 2-6 March, students will have the chance to join the School Breakfast Heroes - Mr. Breakfast, Crunch, Fruit Avenger, Yogurt, Sandwich Sensei, and Eggbot - on a morning adventure. School cafeterias nationwide will encourage their students to power up with a healthy, nutritious school breakfast. Throughout the week, students will learn about the health and academic benefits of starting their day with a balanced school breakfast. Through "Design Your Own Superhero" contests to creative writing projects, students will be able to learn about the power of breakfast and its effect on academic achievement and overall student health. School breakfast provides the necessary energy to start a day of learning and achievement, providing 25% of the recommended daily allowance of protein, calcium, iron, vitamins A and C and calories and meeting the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Furthermore, research indicates that kids who skip breakfast rarely make up for missed nutrients later in the day so skipping breakfast could also affect students' performance in after-school activities. According to recent USDA research, 'body mass index (BMI) data indicate that students who participated in the School Breakfast Program had a lower likelihood of overweight and obesity than non-participants'. All school meals are served in age-appropriate portion sizes and schools have many different serving techniques - from 'grab and go' bags and hallway kiosks to breakfast in the classroom and traditional cafeteria service. Many schools are offering breakfast at no cost to students because of the proven value of eating breakfast. School breakfast today includes whole grains found in cereal, cereal bars and bagels, as well as fruit and low fat dairy including milk and yogurt. The positive effects that eating breakfast has on students' performance in school continues to grow as more schools are serving breakfast. The School Breakfast Program has been in place for about 40 years and today over ten million children eat school breakfast everyday. The School Nutrition Association launched NSBW in 1989 to raise awareness about the availability of breakfast for all students at school and to draw attention to the link between eating a good breakfast and cognitive growth. SNA's National School Breakfast Week promotions are made possible with support from the National Dairy Council and General Mills Foodservice. The School Nutrition Association is a national, non-profit professional organisation representing more than 55,000 members who provide high-quality, low-cost meals to students across the country.