School Breakfast

School breakfast has many benefits that can be quickly utilized when barriers to breakfast are addressed. Some obstacles that may prevent students from eating school breakfast when it’s served in the cafeteria before the official start of the school day can include:

• Students arriving late to school due to bus or carpool schedules 

• Stigma that school breakfast is for low-income students 

• Middle or high school students may not be hungry first thing in the morning 

• Cafeteria location is not convenient for students 

• Students prefer to socialize rather than eat alone in the morning 

Breakfast After the Bell (BAB), where breakfast is served after the official start of the school day, addresses those barriers and is one of the most effective ways to significantly boost school breakfast participation. BAB shifts the time breakfast is served so that it’s a part of the school day and moves breakfast from the cafeteria to where students are, like classrooms and common areas.

Traditional school breakfast programs often have barriers that prohibit students from eating breakfast before school, such as: 

• Transportation: The school bus doesn’t arrive in time for kids to get breakfast in the cafeteria.
• Busy mornings: Regardless of their socioeconomic status, many families are rushed in the morning and don’t always have time for breakfast at home.
• Stigma: There is often a stigma associated with eating breakfast in the cafeteria before school starts; therefore, children avoid it, especially middle- and high-school students, for whom social status and the perceptions of their peers loom large. 
• Lack of resources: For low-income families, there simply may not always be enough food at home for kids to have a healthy breakfast.

There are many ways to build support for BAB programs.  Solutions include finding your champions and spreading the word on the benefits of BAB programs.

• Breakfast After the Bell reaches more students than traditional cafeteria breakfast. Fewer than half the kids who get a free or reduced-price school lunch, on average, get a free or reduced-price breakfast. 
• Multiple barriers prevent students from accessing traditional cafeteria breakfast; Breakfast After the Bell addresses those barriers and enables more kids to start the day with a nutritious meal.  
• Kids who eat school breakfast are more likely to have a better overall diet. Students who participate daily in school breakfast are more likely to consume milk, whole grains, and fruit as part of their breakfast, compared to students who never or less frequently eat school breakfast. 
• Access to school breakfast is a racial equity issue. People of color deal with poverty and food insecurity at a much higher rate than white people. For example, Black people are two times more likely to experience poverty than the overall population of the United States. Breakfast After the Bell ensures all students have the opportunity to start their day fueled up and ready to learn.

In addition to the bullet points just listed, you can use the talking points resource below to introduce BAB to stakeholders:

These Talking Points for Introducing Breakfast After the Bell to School Stakeholders can help you get started as you educate teachers, principals and superintendents about Breakfast After the Bell. 

For Principals and Teachers

These short Breakfast After the Bell 101 videos are geared towards teachers and principals and outline how Breakfast After the Bell benefits students and classrooms, as well as how to incorporate these models into the instructional day.

• Breakfast in the Classroom video
• Grab and Go to the Classroom video
• Second Chance Breakfast video
• Breakfast After the Bell Myths - 

For School Nutrition Staff

This guide to building relationships with school nutrition staff is intended to help you decide when to approach school nutrition staff and which members of the staff to approach.

School meals can be a lifeline for families. Free and reduced price (FRP) meals can relieve some of the financial struggles school meals place upon families. In order to receive FRP meals, families must apply through their school. No Kid Hungry's School Meals Application Outreach Toolkit 

It is important to inform parents about the Breakfast After the Bell program before it launches and engages them in the process. No Kid Hungry’s Breakfast FAQs for Parents is a customizable resource that answers those frequently asked questions that school nutrition directors and principals get from parents regarding Breakfast After the Bell.

• Breakfast FAQs for Parents (customizable English and customizable Spanish)

This template letter can be customized by schools to inform families about a new Breakfast in the Classroom program:

• Breakfast in the Classroom Customizable Letter to Families

Students are the customers of Breakfast After the Bell programs and should be treated as such. Gathering student feedback is key to the success of any school meals program. This Student Feedback Toolkit can help engage students in the process.

Breakfast After the Bell Strategies for Middle and High Schools shares the best practices that schools from across the country have used to increase their middle and high school breakfast participation. Tactics such as engaging students in the planning process, soliciting student feedback and offering Second Chance Breakfast have shown success in getting more middle and high school students to eat school breakfast.

How you implement a Breakfast After the Bell program can have a big impact on participation. There may be initial challenges, but with thorough planning, regular feedback from partners, and adaptability, schools can create successful sustainable programs. Make sure to involve your community at the beginning of this process to Let Your Community Shape Your Program.

Implementation Resources:

• BAB Pre-Implementation Checklist - This resource is a mapped out list of action steps schools can take to prepare for BAB implementation, from creating a school breakfast team, to connecting with schools that have already implemented BAB to learn from their experiences.
• Conversation Starters for Designing More Inclusive School Meals Programs - Students and their families are the most important partners in school nutrition programs. These conversation starters can be used to guide conversations with school nutrition staff to identify barriers that students and their families may face in accessing school meals, and generate ideas for engaging students and families as partners in designing more equitable meals programs.
• Breakfast in the Classroom Rollout Timeline - This timeline counts down long-term and short term-tasks, as well as what school stakeholders can do, to prepare for Breakfast in the Classroom implementation.
• Equipment List For School Meal Service - This resource lists the equipment you can use for meal service whether meals are served in the cafeteria, the classroom, or elsewhere on the campus.It includes ideas for repurposing equipment that you may already have and options to consider for new or replacement equipment needs.Also,  Equipment Tip Sheet from No Kid Hungry may provide helpful guidance as schools assess their equipment needs.
• Best Practices To Operate Breakfast After the Bell Without Universal Free Meals - If your breakfast program does not include universal free meals, you may be wondering how to implement BAB to ensure the counting and claiming process remains accurate, and that students not participating in the program do not feel left out. This resource can help ensure smooth BAB operations.
• Meal Quality: Adaptability, Creativity and Fun - Meal quality is an integral component of any meal program. It can mean many different things, including serving culturally appropriate foods, offering a hot meal on cold days, and making sure the appearance of the meals are appealing to students. This resource shares a variety of promising practices on meal quality, such as focusing on customer service and inclusivity; promoting your meals program; making the most of take-home meals; keeping the menu varied and staying inspired; and having a positive attitude while making it fun.

USDA’s Breakfast Method Fact Sheet can be a helpful guide in choosing a breakfast model. Below, No Kid Hungry's Keys to Success Model Guide, can also help you choose which Breakfast After the Bell model best suits your school.

Learn how each Breakfast After the Bell model is structured with Innovative Breakfast Delivery Options, and find out the percentage increase your school breakfast program can experience by adopting these models. 

The USDA has several handouts specifying what school partners can do to support school breakfast:

• Superintendent/Principal
• Teachers
• Coaches

Breakfast in the Classroom Pacing Guide:  This guide is designed to support educators by illuminating the Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC) process, from understanding the importance of breakfast to preparing students for BIC. 

Teacher Guide – Classroom Set Up and Clean Up: This resource outlines how classrooms can be affected by Breakfast After the Bell and shares best practices on how to create a plan for classroom set up and clean up where breakfast is served or eaten.

NSBW short implementation videos - This page has 5 short 13-15 minute videos to help you get started implementing BAB.

• Day One's video talks about why Breakfast After the Bell works. In this short 13-minute video, Warren Ryan, Assistant Director for San Bernardino City Unified School District, CA, will share his experience implementing BAB in his district.
• Day Two's video focuses on the importance of a delicious breakfast menu. In this short 14-minute video, National consultant Donna Martin, a retired director of Burke County, Georgia’s school nutrition program, will share her knowledge about menu planning and some great menu ideas for Breakfast After the Bell school meal delivery programs.
• Day Three's video narrows in on the equipment needed to implement Breakfast After the Bell. In this short 13-minute video about equipment needs for Breakfast After the Bell (BAB) programs, National consultant Marla Caplon, recently retired from Montgomery County Public Schools, will share her ideas about how to make equipment needs decisions and things to consider, such as your campus setup and delivery methods.
• Day Four's video shows how to train and promote breakfast after the bell in your school community. This short 15-minute video features Walter Campbell, who retired after 17 years where he was the executive director of nutrition services for Charleston County School District. He will share his expertise on how to train your campus community and promote your BAB program.

Day Five's video closes out the week by walking you through launch day for your breakfast after the bell program. In this short 13-minute video, Nutrition Director Frances Montoya, from Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in California, will share her expertise about launching and sustaining your BAB program.

Every student deserves access to healthy food every day, and providing universal free school meals is a great way to make that happen. This resource will help you compare three options for Providing Universal Free School Meals: the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), Provision 2, and non-pricing.
USDA has multiple resources that schools can use to determine how expanding school breakfast will affect the revenue, variable costs versus fixed costs and overall operation of breakfast.

Meal quality is an integral component of any meal program. It can mean many different things, including serving culturally appropriate foods, offering a hot meal on cold days, and making sure the appearance of the meals are appealing to students. This resources shares a variety of promising practices on meal quality, such as:

1. Focusing on customer service and inclusivity,
2. Promoting your meals program,
3. Making the most of take-home meals,
4. Keeping the menu varied and staying inspired, and 
5. Having a positive attitude and making it fun!

Students and their families are the most important stakeholders in school nutrition programs. These conversation starters can be used to guide conversations with school nutrition staff to:

1. Identify barriers that students and their families may face in accessing school meals, and
2. Generate ideas for engaging students and families as partners in designing more equitable meals programs.
    

Breakfast in the Classroom and Grab and Go to the Classroom will need to have easily transportable food items that are healthy and appealing to students.

Menu Assistance

• The Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Smart Food Planner has recipes and four-week cycle menus that can be useful for food service directors to use in their districts.
• USDA’s Nutrition and Menu Planning Resources provide menu ideas, nutrition basics and suggested resources for additional assistance with breakfast menu planning.

Student Feedback

Soliciting student feedback for the school breakfast program can increase student buy-in for the program, as well as create a more sustainable Breakfast After the Bell program. Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom’s In-Depth Survey Toolkit provides survey ideas and templates.

Train staff who will be directly affected by the change in breakfast, including cafeteria staff, teachers and custodians. Appropriate training enables teachers and food service staff to have the necessary support they need during the start-up phase of implementation and ensures program integrity. As the implementation process rolls out, additional training may be necessary.
 

Teachers will benefit from this Classroom Set Up and Clean Up guide, which informs them about how Breakfast After the Bell affects their classroom and provides guidance on how they can create a morning.

Meal quality is an integral component of any meal program. It can mean many different things, including serving culturally appropriate foods, offering a hot meal on cold days, and making sure the appearance of the meals are appealing to students. Meal Quality: Adaptability, Creativity and Fun shares promising practices from school nutrition teams across the nation that have utilized their creativity and ingenuity to master meal quality, such as how to focus on customer service and create an inclusive meals program, the importance of promoting your meals program, and how to stay inspired and keep the menu varied.

Reducing food waste is important to students, parents, educators and food service staff alike. Strategies to Reduce Food Waste in Schools & Child Nutrition Programs highlights some of the most effective strategies to help reduce, recover and recycle food waste from school meals. For example, incorporating strategies such as scheduling recess before lunch, giving students enough time to eat school meals so they aren't rushed, and donating surplus food can make a big difference in reducing the amount of food that is thrown away each year.

High breakfast participation is the result of many different aspects of the breakfast program running smoothly, from the logistics of the program to gaining buy-in from the student body. These resources highlight how to increase breakfast participation.

Grab and Go to the Classroom: Successful Grab and Go programs serve meals from convenient, high-traffic areas of the school and allow students to eat them in the classroom after the official start of the school day. Check out these tips for implementing an effective Grab and Go program to make sure that your school’s program reaches the most students possible.

Communications and Nudges: Spend adequate time promoting the new breakfast program, as stakeholders may need several rounds of messaging to understand the logistics of the new program or the impact expanding school breakfast will have on them. For students in particular, once the new program has been implemented, they may need reminders that school breakfast is available to them in a new way. No Kid Hungry Breakfast Nudges outlines how the subtle act of asking students if they’ve had breakfast that morning can increase participation.

Middle and High Schools: Breakfast After the Bell Strategies for Middle and High Schools shares the best practices that schools from across the country have used to increase their middle and high school breakfast participation. Tactics such as engaging students in the planning process, soliciting student feedback and offering Second Chance Breakfast have shown success in getting more middle and high school students to eat school breakfast.

Provide Universal Free School Meals: Removing the financial barrier of breakfast increases participation. Providing Universal Free School Meals offers a comparison of three options for offering students school meals at no cost to them: the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), Provision 2, and non-pricing.

Best Practices to Operate BAB without Universal Meals: Best Practices to Operate BAB without Universal Meals offers techniques you can apply to your BAB program to ensure smooth operations while boosting breakfast participation.

High School Breakfast Success

High School Breakfast Success: Watch and learn from this high school at Galena Park ISD in Texas on how they use a three-pronged approach to breakfast. By offering students the option of traditional cafeteria breakfast, grab and go, and second chance breakfast, the high school went from feeding around 200 students breakfast every morning to approximately 800 students.

Elementary School Breakfast Success

Elementary School Breakfast Success: Hear from teachers, students, and the principal of Longfellow Elementary in Wisconsin on how a simple Grab and Go program provided a calmer classroom experience, higher attendance rates, and more of a community environment. By switching from traditional cafeteria breakfast, Longfellow went from serving 80 kids breakfast every morning to roughly 200 kids per day.

Sharing breakfast success can be a wonderful way to showcase a Breakfast After the Bell (BAB) program. A BAB success story can highlight the incredible work of school and district staff that make the school breakfast program a win for the students, the school, and the community. Learn how to create your own breakfast success story using this guide, How to Create a Breakfast After the Bell Success Story.

Student involvement can directly help improve breakfast participation and create long lasting relationships between students and school nutrition professionals. Incorporating youth voices can shape food service initiatives to promote healthier food and create more inclusive meal options. 

This resource contains best and promising practices that schools and districts can test out and incorporate what resonates with them in order to connect with student voices to improve breakfast participation. 

One of the most effective ways to significantly boost school breakfast participation is to make it part of the school day, serving Breakfast After the Bell. Breakfast After the Bell can have positive benefits on children's educational and health outcomes.

Schools are one of the most effective ways we can help vulnerable children in the United States, from providing the lasting power of education to meals and necessary social services. Schools can only help students, however, if they show up. Nearly 8 million students are missing at least three weeks of the school year, making them chronically absent. Chronic absenteeism can lead to reduced student achievement, an increased likelihood of dropping out and a greater risk of becoming unemployed adults.

The No Kid Hungry campaign commissioned a study examining whether serving breakfast after the bell as a regular part of the school day can reduce chronic absenteeism. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara, included an analysis of state-level and national data.

• A Study on Chronic Absenteeism and Breakfast After the Bell has two resources: 
  • The Microreport is a four-page brochure that provides a snapshot of the University of California Santa Barbara's study. The study found that Breakfast After the Bell can reduce chronic absenteeism by an average of 6 percentage points.  
  • The Research Brief provides a detailed summary of the University of California Santa Barbara's study. This brief is geared towards those who wish to dive more deeply into the research.

The simple act of feeding kids a healthy school breakfast can be associated with dramatic impacts, including positive outcomes in education and well-being. A report by Deloitte also found that schools that serve Breakfast After the Bell have higher breakfast participation, lower absenteeism and improved test scores. Better performance and attendance at school can lead to greater job-readiness and self-sufficiency after high school.

• The Research Brief: Breakfast for Learning (FRAC.org) shows the importance of school breakfast on academic performance and behavior and the benefits of breakfast after the bell.
• Ending Childhood Hunger: A Social Impact Analysis is the full report from Deloitte's analysis that demonstrates the potential long-term impact of the school breakfast program.
   

Understanding parents' perspectives can shed light on the need for school breakfast and effective ways to promote the program.   

Parents recognize the importance of a healthy breakfast. Gathering parent perspectives on how to market the school breakfast program can boost participation.   

Two recent focus groups May-June 2024, were held in Dallas, TX to gather parent’s feedback on school meals including breakfast.  Many of the feelings they shared can be applied across the board to school lunch and after school meals programs.

• Exploring Parental Perspectives: Insights on School and Summer Meals Programs in North Texas - This case study in Dallas, Texas explored feedback collected from parent focus groups who discussed school meals, including breakfast, lunch, and summer meal programs. Their valuable feedback can be instrumental in reducing stigma, increasing awareness, and boosting participation rates. 

When teens don’t get enough to eat, this not only impacts their academic performance and reduces their chances of graduation, but it also affects their overall physical, social, and emotional well-being.

Research has shown that youth thrive when they eat school and community meals, but there’s a participation gap among teens compared with younger children. There’s also a tendency to focus more on elementary-aged students when it comes to improving the school meals experience. At No Kid Hungry, we recognize the importance of tackling hunger from a variety of perspectives in order to ensure that all young people receive the benefits of child nutrition programs. That’s why we need teenagers to take part in the conversation.

In May 2022, with the support and expertise of FM3 Research, we found out what middle and high school students think about school and community meals by interviewing 1,000 teens across the U.S.

Our goal was threefold—(1) to better gauge teens’ perceptions of school and community meals; (2) to determine if and how schools are working with teens to improve these programs; and (3) to find out how much teens want to be engaged in improving the school and community meals experience.
 

NSBW short implementation videos - This page has 5 short 15 minute or less videos to help you get started implementing BAB.

• Day One's video talks about why Breakfast After the Bell works. In this short 13-minute video, Warren Ryan, Assistant Director for San Bernardino City Unified School District, CA, will share his experience implementing BAB in his district.
• Day Two's video focuses on the importance of a delicious breakfast menu. In this short 14-minute video, National consultant Donna Martin, a retired director of Burke County, Georgia’s school nutrition program, will share her knowledge about menu planning and some great menu ideas for Breakfast After the Bell school meal delivery programs.
• Day Three's video narrows in on the equipment needed to implement Breakfast After the Bell. In this short 13-minute video about equipment needs for Breakfast After the Bell (BAB) programs, National consultant Marla Caplon, recently retired from Montgomery County Public Schools, will share her ideas about how to make equipment needs decisions and things to consider, such as your campus setup and delivery methods.
• Day Four's video shows how to train and promote breakfast after the bell in your school community. This short 15-minute video features National consultant Walter Campbell, who retired after 17 years where he was the executive director of nutrition services for Charleston County School District. He will share his expertise on how to train your campus community and promote your BAB program.
• Day Five's video closes out the week by walking you through launch day for your breakfast after the bell program. In this short 13-minute video, Nutrition Director Frances Montoya, from Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in California, will share her expertise about launching and sustaining your BAB program.
   

High School Breakfast Success - Watch and learn from this high school at Galena Park ISD in Texas on how they use a three-pronged approach to breakfast. By offering students the option of traditional cafeteria breakfast, grab and go, and second chance breakfast, the high school went from feeding around 200 students breakfast every morning to approximately 800 students.

Elementary School Breakfast Success - Hear from teachers, students, and the principal of Longfellow Elementary in Wisconsin on how a simple Grab and Go program provided a calmer classroom experience, higher attendance rates, and more of a community environment. By switching from traditional cafeteria breakfast, Longfellow went from serving 80 kids breakfast every morning to roughly 200 kids per day.

• Boosting Breakfast Participation: Breakfast After the Bell and Other Strategies
• Breakfast Tips & Strategies for Fueling Success in Rural Districts
• Boosting Breakfast: Tips and Tactics for Increasing School Meal Participation (English/Spanish)
• Rise and Dine: Breakfast After the Bell Menu Inspirations and More
• Connecting Over Food: Breakfast After the Bell & Other Tools for Reducing Chronic Absenteeism
• Morning Momentum: Boosting Student Engagement in Breakfast
• Rise and Shine: Breakfast After the Bell and the Power of Stakeholder Support
• Starting a Breakfast After the Bell Program: How to Get Started to Prepare for Success
• Hot Breakfast in the Classroom: How to Transition Your Breakfast in the Classroom Program from Cold to Hot
• Maintaining the Momentum: Launching & Sustaining Successful Breakfast After the Bell Programs