Nutritional Development Services Of The Archdiocese Of Philadelphia Participates In National School Breakfast Week Encouraging Students To Take The Breakfast Challenge

Busy weekday mornings make it a challenge for many families to find time for a healthy breakfast. However, Nutritional Development Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (NDS) helps nearly 7,600 students start every school day with a nutritious breakfast. To encourage students to take advantage of the healthy choices available with school breakfast, NDS will participate in this year’s National School Breakfast Week (NSBW).

The NSBW campaign theme, “School Breakfast Challenge,” reminds the entire school community that breakfast provides a healthy, energizing start to the day. Students throughout the five-county Archdiocese will be encouraged to “Take the Challenge” from March 6-10 by completing daily NSBW Activity Sheets that encourage students to work through fun puzzles and activities with their classmates.

NDS makes The School Breakfast Program available to students at no cost in 84 elementary and high schools throughout in the region. School Breakfast provides a student with a quarter of their daily calories and key growth nutrients. A typical breakfast consists of a whole grain entrée such as an apple-cinnamon muffin, mini maple pancakes, or an egg and cheese bagel; a half-pint of low-fat or fat-free milk; and two servings of fruit, such as fresh fruit, applesauce, raisins, or one hundred percent fruit juice.

Ms. Brooke Mullen, Assistant Director of NDS said, “Breakfast is critical for children, as they require energy for growth and development as well as for play and learning.  Children who eat breakfast regularly have longer attention spans, improvement in test scores, and increased cognitive function.” In addition, Ms. Mullen said, “The school breakfast program helps alleviate several barriers to breakfast consumption in children, including food insecurity (lack of access to food) early school hours, lack of time, and two-parent working families.”

In 1989, NSBW was launched to raise awareness of the availability of the School Breakfast Program to promote the links between eating a good breakfast, academic achievement and healthy lifestyles. The “Take the School Breakfast Challenge” is made possible by the nonprofit School Nutrition Association.

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Editor’s Note: For more information on Nutritional Development Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, please visit www.nutritionaldevelopmentservices.org. To learn more about National School Breakfast Week, please visit https://schoolnutrition.org/Meetings/Events/NSBW/2017/.

 

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Alaina Longo 
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215-587-3747 (office)