It’s not a secret that the first meal is the most important meal of the day for all people, regardless of age. But eating a complete breakfast every morning can make all the difference for our children. That’s why breakfast programs are important to school nutrition directors in America's heartland, but that doesn't mean their jobs are easy.
Some of the most common difficulties in schools center around nutrition and the meals that students buy or, in many cases, cannot afford while attending school. Breakfast programs in K-12 school districts provide children access to nutritious, affordable meals in a safe and supportive environment. And when children eat breakfast at school, it helps ensure that those students begin each day with much-needed proteins and vitamins.
School Breakfast Matters!
Nutritious meals give students the energy they need to succeed in the classroom. Studies have shown that students who eat breakfast perform better on tests, have higher attendance rates, and are more alert and attentive in class. In addition, eating a balanced, healthy breakfast helps to fuel the brain and body for the day. Even more importantly, nutritious food helps to reduce the risk of childhood obesity and other pediatric health problems.
Eating breakfast at school also helps reduce hunger in low-income students who may not have access to nutritious meals at home. The United States Department of Agriculture created a program to help hungry students and families who live in poverty. The School Breakfast Program (SBP) is federally funded and provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost, or free breakfast to K-12 students in America. Eating breakfast helps children concentrate better in school and improve their physical and mental health. In addition, healthy foods such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables help children meet the suggested daily nutrients.
The USDA’s program helps ensure that all children in the United States have access to the food they need to come to school ready to learn. SBP helps to lower the risk of food insecurity by providing a reliable source for daily breakfast to children in need. The program also allows school districts to teach their students about healthy eating habits, which can help improve their overall nutrition. Additionally, the program is free for participating schools and allows school chefs to serve healthy breakfasts to their students without straining their budget.
Breakfast in Schools Is Untapped Revenue
Since the USDA's School Breakfast Program provides federal funds to schools that serve nutritious breakfasts to children in low-income areas, districts can provide free or reduced-price meals to children in need.
Why does all this matter to school chefs and nutritionists? It’s important because it means that revenue from money spent on à la carte menu options is even more impactful to a school’s bottom line. To cover the cost of food, labor, operations, and other expenses, school districts participating in the breakfast program need a primary source of revenue.
SBPs can be profitable. Of the school districts surveyed, 50 percent reported seeing more profits through School Breakfast Programs than lunch programs. Participation is key to bringing profitability to a school kitchen program, and cooperation is greatly affected by the type of breakfast program offered.
To keep students coming back, schools need to offer students a designated time and place for breakfast and an opportunity to buy and eat various breakfast foods. Plus, school kitchens can increase revenue by prioritizing foods that students purchase. So it’s no surprise that k-12 districts are taking back the approach to school foodservice to increase meal participation and revenue. Believe it or not, some schools make hundreds of thousands of dollars from foods sold outside the federally-funded meal program.
Implementing a Successful School Breakfast Program
School chefs and nutritionists put a lot of time and effort into creating and maintaining healthy and successful breakfast programs. Generally speaking, the process of establishing a school breakfast program can take anywhere from a few months to a year.
Factors such as the availability of funding, the complexity of the program, and the hiring of staff members or contractors can all affect the amount of time needed to create an effective program. Here are a few tips to help your k-12 kitchen:
- Make it easy to pay: Provide convenient payment options such as online payments, meal plan cards, or pre-paid accounts to make it easier for students to purchase meals.
- Promote school meals: Use school newsletters, social media, and other communications to promote the variety, quality, and affordability of school meals.
- Offer a variety of tasty options: Providing a wide selection of nutritious and delicious food choices encourages students to try new things and increases spending in the cafeteria.
If your school kitchen is looking for a solution that brings more variety and students back to the breakfast line daily, then the TurboChef PLEXOR oven is perfect.
TurboChef PLEXOR offers mix-and-match features and can automatically cook an entire meal to perfection. This innovative commercial oven is ideal for school kitchens because of its consistent cooking speeds and precise temperature control for flawlessly cooked food. In addition, theTurboChef PLEXOR is ventless and ready to be configured for kitchens of any size.
With its combination of time-saving features, the Turbo Chef Plexor oven is an excellent choice for school chefs looking to prepare and serve breakfast and lunch quickly and with greater precision. Additionally, TurboChef PLEXOR lets schools expand menu options to serve a variety of dishes and increase satisfaction among diverse student populations.
Is your school ready to reduce labor costs, increase efficiencies, and create a more profitable meal program? Let us show you how in person.
