EditMenu Last year a new breakfast in the classroom program was piloted in 39,000-student Saint Paul Public Schools in Minnesota. The program, Breakfast to Go (B2G), was so successful, Jean Ronnei, director of nutrition and commercial services, expanded it to 16 additional schools this year.
“Expanding the breakfast program was part of the district’s strategic plan because the administration recognized that breakfast eaters do better in school. We piloted B2G last year and we looked to expand it to up to 25 schools this school year on a volunteer basis. We are up to 17. We are expanding Breakfast to Go (B2G) to all schools that offer Provision II breakfast by January of next year.
One of the strategies that school districts should think about in piloting a program is do it in a school that has a very willing, creative and influential principal. We picked Wellstone, which has those characteristics. It also happens to be an eight-story building, and the kids have to walk up the stairs so there were a lot of challenges. Virtually all of the kids ride buses, so they come in off the bus. The kids queue up in the cafeteria, and if they happen to be early they do wait to go up to the classroom. There is a certain time that we say it’s OK to go up.
The kids are given a biodegradable plastic bag and they go through the line and pick up an entrée and sides. We make a lot of items from scratch. We wanted to be able to serve some hot foods that are our favorites, like cheese bread, which is a whole-wheat pizza crust with a blend of cheese melted on it. We make breakfast breads from scratch, which are made from whole grains.
The students carry their bags up to the classroom. It’s before the start of school so the kids are eating breakfast while the teachers are doing their prep time. We have students responsible for dumping the trash and sorting. We do food waste recycling and we provide a bucket. Part of this has been making sure you are flexible, so what might work in one school doesn’t necessarily work with another. Some schools have the trashcans in the hallway. In this particular school they elected to have the students take turns wheeling the trashcans from one room to the next.
One of the successes that we’ve had is that we do this pig food waste recycling where the kids dump their food into barrels and it’s picked up by a pig farmer. We’ve actually had a number of schools where we don’t have enough food that we are collecting to make it worth our while. The kids have had enough time to eat. They were so rushed before.
We’ve had great results. Participation at B2G schools has increased 63%. Tardiness has dropped 8% and office referrals for discipline have decreased 20%.
We put an explanatory video together because it’s easier to tell the story visually than it is to talk about steps. The video was created at Wellstone after the pilot. We’ve shown that to all of our principals and as we do the implementation. It’s a good way to get teachers and students to understand the concept.
Pick an early adaptor and that’s a principal in a school that might have challenges, like Wellstone did with its space and stairs, but with a principal with the right attitude. We spent a great deal of time making sure that our own staff understood the mission. From the get go, the message from the custodial staff was, we are going to figure out how to make this work. Administrative buy-in is important. And you have to have people who can accept that there are going to be some challenges along the way when you implement a completely different program. It is really important to get people to understand the benefits and not shove it down anyone’s throat.”
- The Eatery at Pitt Eats boasts 11 new campus dining concepts
- Forecasting Slow Growth & Positive Future for Food Away from Home
- Healthy Hospital Chef Challenge winners and their prize-winning plant-based recipes
- 8 new menu items coming to K-12 schools this year
- How Aramark Student Nutrition creates LTOs that get students excited about lunch
New breakfast program increases participation by 63%.
Jan. 19, 2010“Expanding the breakfast program was part of the district’s strategic plan because the administration recognized that breakfast eaters do better in school. We piloted B2G last year and we looked to expand it to up to 25 schools this school year on a volunteer basis. We are up to 17. We are expanding Breakfast to Go (B2G) to all schools that offer Provision II breakfast by January of next year.
One of the strategies that school districts should think about in piloting a program is do it in a school that has a very willing, creative and influential principal. We picked Wellstone, which has those characteristics. It also happens to be an eight-story building, and the kids have to walk up the stairs so there were a lot of challenges. Virtually all of the kids ride buses, so they come in off the bus. The kids queue up in the cafeteria, and if they happen to be early they do wait to go up to the classroom. There is a certain time that we say it’s OK to go up.
The kids are given a biodegradable plastic bag and they go through the line and pick up an entrée and sides. We make a lot of items from scratch. We wanted to be able to serve some hot foods that are our favorites, like cheese bread, which is a whole-wheat pizza crust with a blend of cheese melted on it. We make breakfast breads from scratch, which are made from whole grains.
The students carry their bags up to the classroom. It’s before the start of school so the kids are eating breakfast while the teachers are doing their prep time. We have students responsible for dumping the trash and sorting. We do food waste recycling and we provide a bucket. Part of this has been making sure you are flexible, so what might work in one school doesn’t necessarily work with another. Some schools have the trashcans in the hallway. In this particular school they elected to have the students take turns wheeling the trashcans from one room to the next.
One of the successes that we’ve had is that we do this pig food waste recycling where the kids dump their food into barrels and it’s picked up by a pig farmer. We’ve actually had a number of schools where we don’t have enough food that we are collecting to make it worth our while. The kids have had enough time to eat. They were so rushed before.
We’ve had great results. Participation at B2G schools has increased 63%. Tardiness has dropped 8% and office referrals for discipline have decreased 20%.
We put an explanatory video together because it’s easier to tell the story visually than it is to talk about steps. The video was created at Wellstone after the pilot. We’ve shown that to all of our principals and as we do the implementation. It’s a good way to get teachers and students to understand the concept.
Pick an early adaptor and that’s a principal in a school that might have challenges, like Wellstone did with its space and stairs, but with a principal with the right attitude. We spent a great deal of time making sure that our own staff understood the mission. From the get go, the message from the custodial staff was, we are going to figure out how to make this work. Administrative buy-in is important. And you have to have people who can accept that there are going to be some challenges along the way when you implement a completely different program. It is really important to get people to understand the benefits and not shove it down anyone’s throat.”
Want breaking news at your fingertips?
Click here or text FSD to (877) 281-7554 to receive text alerts from FoodService Director and get the news and insights that matter to your operation.
Thanks for signing up!
Click here to complete your profileMultimedia
The Latest
Listen to your daily news: FSD PodcastsNew episodes weekdays