Bank on It: A Food Bank Blog: School Meals Coalition: Working to Help Every Child Succeed

School Meals Coalition: Working to Help Every Child Succeed

Posted At : September 7, 2011 10:43 AM | Posted By : Food Bank Related Categories: Children & Youth, Nutrition & Food

By Roxanne Henry, Tomorrow is the first day of school for New York City public school students, but backpacks, notebooks and #2 pencils are not the only tools children need to succeed. Having access to a nutritious breakfast every day is critical. Research shows that children who eat breakfast regularly perform better in school, are less likely to be late or absent, have fewer disciplinary problems and need fewer visits to the school nurse. However, with more than three quarters (76 percent) of New York City households with children having difficulty affording needed food, only 24 percent of New York City public school students participate in the school breakfast program, even though it is universally available in New York City public schools. Thats why the New York City School Meals Coalition, convened by the Food Bank For New York City, has been putting a strategic action plan into place to expand access to school breakfast by promoting Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC) which, as the name implies, gives students the opportunity to have a nutritious breakfast in their first period classroom, during the first 1015 minutes of the day. Because BIC addresses the two main barriers to access for school breakfast stigma (school breakfast is available in the cafeteria before the start of the school day, so students can be readily identified and perceived as poor) and scheduling (many families morning schedules do not allow them to get to school early enough for breakfast) when schools implement BIC, school breakfast participation soars. Almost every school in New York City is equipped to implement BIC; a principal simply needs to give the green light. The strategic action plan of the School Meals Coalition which includes representatives from the New York City Department of Education Office of SchoolFood, the unions that represent teachers, principals and cafeteria workers, government officials, community-based organizations, child welfare and anti-hunger advocates, and other stakeholders is still being finalized, but includes such ideas as assembling a BIC parent advocacy team, giving principals BIC tours and securing BIC endorsements from high-profile individuals and organizations. Last year, the number of schools participating in BIC more than doubled, increasing from 138 to 333. This year, the coalition is working together to expand on the work that it did during the 20092010 school year to give more children a better opportunity to succeed. What are your ideas for promoting Breakfast in the Classroom in schools and communities? Roxanne Henry is Community Outreach Manager at the Food Bank For New York City.