Special to the Tribune-Star
WEST TERRE HAUTE — The Indiana Dairy Nutrition Council is helping promote National School Breakfast Week with their Expanding Breakfast Grant program.West Vigo Elementary School was one of the 10 winners who received $200 to implement their March breakfast promotion. Examples of how the schools will use their money to promote breakfast are implementing a yogurt bar with a variety of toppings and warm milk steamers to start their day off right. They also received 10 Fuel Up To Play 60 string bags that can be used as student incentives to have breakfast at schools. The grand prize winner received a rolling cooler that holds two crates of milk.
National School Breakfast Week was launched in 1989 to raise awareness of the availability of the School Breakfast Program to all children. When kids miss breakfast, they miss more than a meal. A healthy breakfast is the first step toward a good day. Growing children need more than 40 nutrients every day, and it is hard to get all of them without eating breakfast. Kids who eat something healthy before school will feel better and learn better which is especially important during the month of March for ISTEP testing.
It doesn’t have to be complicated or take much time to get to healthy start. Choose a variety of nutritious foods that children can easily grab in a hurry: hard-boiled eggs, sliced apples in a baggie, cheese sticks, a bagel with low-fat cream cheese, peanut butter sandwich or a chug of chocolate milk.
Children who don’t eat breakfast are less likely to consume all the essential nutrients they need each day to thrive. One of the nutrients that children may not be getting enough of is calcium — the bone building mineral found in milk and other dairy foods. Eating a nutritious breakfast is a great way for children to be on target to meet their daily nutrition needs. Jenni Kerrigan, registered dietitian, states, “We can’t forget what we teach our children at home will have a huge impact on their future. So rise, shine and dine with nutrient rich foods!”
