Carbon School District ranked near the top in the number of students that eat breakfast at school, and district officials want to do even better.
According to a recent report issued by the Utah Breakfast Expansion Team (part of Utahns Against Hunger), Wayne School District was first out of 41 districts in the state, Emery second and Carbon fifth. Rich and Juab School Districts were third and fourth, respectively.
Studies have shown that students who eat breakfast stay healthier and perform better in all aspects of education than those the don’t.
Overall in the state, during the 2014-15 school year only 34.3 percent of students in a low income category were served breakfast at school. A successful breakfast program must reach at least 70 percent of those students.
Fifteen percent of Utah children live in poverty, but the proportion of students that actually experience food insecurity is over 20 percent.
The problem of food insecurity is made worse because many households purchase mainly high-calorie, inexpensive foods. Salty and sugary diets lead to weight challenges and other health problems.
These types of households also usually consume fewer fruits and vegetables, a key to good nutrition. Most experts agree that poor diet creates a greater risk for chronic conditions such as asthma, anemia and pneumonia, along with behavioral and emotional problems. Poor diets also lead to complex health problems later in life.
School breakfast programs also benefit students who do not face food insecurity. Busy family lifestyles can preclude students from eating right in the morning and the program offers an alternative that can lead to better nutrition.
Lots of options
Breakfast programs vary from district to district. Some districts charge families for the program based on need, while others that charge nothing to any student who wishes to eat. There are also many ways breakfast can be administered. In some cases, students can eat in the school cafeteria before classes begin. In other cases breakfast is served during school time, either as a cafeteria event or in the classroom. Some schools use a “grab n’ go” program in which students can take breakfast off a cart or from the cafeteria to the classroom or somewhere else on the campus to eat.
Carbon District has tried the program in all its forms. At Bruin Point Elementary, the school day has been set up to start 10 minutes earlier so all students can eat in the cafeteria before classes begin. This works because student population is small enough for everyone to fit in the cafeteria at once. The school is also on an independent bus schedule because the buses are housed on campus and serve only Bruin Point.
At other schools in the district, breakfast is served before school. However, the “grab n’ go” breakfasts are available to schools, even individual classrooms, depending on what the administration and the faculty members at schools want to do.
No cost for breakfast
In Carbon District there is no cost to any student who eats breakfast at school, whether they are on free, reduced or full pay lunch programs. However, many students do not take advantage of the opportunity, perhaps because they and their parents are not aware of how it is administered.
The district is reimbursed from the state based on the number of students that eat breakfast. According to Patti Rigby, the Director of School Food Services at Carbon District, the total reimbursement for the program in the 2015-16 year was $186,856. Up to November of this school year, the district has received $62,056. Because of the overall poverty level in Carbon County, the district is considered a “severe need” district, one where both lunch and breakfast are supplemented with extra funds to be sure students get good nutrition. The reimbursement is determined by the application of numbers from the lunch program. For the 2016-17 school year, the district gets $2.04 for every breakfast it serves based on free lunch applications, $1.74 per reduced lunch served and $0.29 per every paid lunch served.
Each school has some students with differing needs from the mainstream population. The Child Nutrition Program caters to individual school needs and/or individual classroom needs to serve the most students within the parameters of the regulations.
“We welcome ideas and suggestions from parents and guardians on how to best serve the needs of their children,” said Rigby. “Our breakfasts include whole grains, protein, fruit, juice and milk choices each school day. Breakfast is the perfect time for kids to meet up with friends, share a meal and be ready to have a great day.”
Parents who are interested in the program and who want more information can contact Rigby at 435-613-3142 or through email at prigby@carbonschools.org.