Get Ready, Set, and Go All Out in Support of National School Breakfast Week

The 2010 ‘School Breakfast – Ready Set Go!’ campaign is designed to help students realize the importance of school breakfast and show them the positive effects that eating school breakfast can have on a busy day at school. The theme also stresses the importance of eating healthy and being active.

The School Breakfast Program is dedicated to the health and well-being of American children. The program is joined by other excellent child nutrition programs designed to meet the continuing need for nutrition education and awareness of the value of school nutrition programs, such as the National School Lunch Program.

This year’s 'School Breakfast – Ready Set Go!’ campaign was created by the nonprofit School Nutrition Association with support from General Mills Food service. The campaign began in January 2010 and will continue through March, but will culminate during National School Breakfast Week, March 8-12, 2010.

Since The National School Breakfast Program first kicked off in 1966, and was later permanently put into place in 1975, more and more American children have been provided with a morning meal at school. To raise awareness of the program’s availability and the impact that eating a healthy breakfast has on both academic achievement and the development of a healthy lifestyle, National School Breakfast Week was established in 1989.

Although everyone realizes the importance of breakfast to health and daily productivity, the fact remains that far too many children skip or simply miss the most vital meal of the day. About 51 percent of children go to school without having had breakfast on any given day. With hectic morning routines and the task of getting children to eat when they don’t feel hungry, many parents find themselves fighting a losing battle. However, with the School Breakfast Program, parents can find relief in knowing that their children will receive a nutritious and well-balanced breakfast at school.

A total of 10.6 million children are served daily by the School Breakfast Program, with 1.8 billion breakfasts served annually. About 81 percent of the nation’s schools participate in the program. In Fiscal Year 2008 alone, Congress appropriated $2.3 billion for the School Breakfast Program.