March 9, 2010  

LANSING – School districts throughout Michigan will celebrate National School Breakfast Week from March 8-12, 2010.

This year’s theme for National School Breakfast Week, entitled School Breakfast – Ready Set Go!, presents an excellent opportunity to emphasize research outcomes that students who eat breakfast are more alert, have improved memory and problem-solving skills, and perform better on standardized tests.

The National School Breakfast Program has served schools for more than 40 years through nutrition education.  The National School Breakfast Program is dedicated to the health and well-being of America’s children.   

“It is important for all Michigan communities to understand that education and proper child nutrition go hand-in-hand,” said State Board of Education President Kathleen N. Straus.

Every school day, the National School Breakfast Program fuels more than 10.6 million students for success.  The program is both critical to maintaining the health and well-being of children who are eligible for free or reduced price meals, and it provides a great alternative for children who don’t want to eat breakfast at home. 

In 2009, more than 251,000 school breakfasts were served daily to students at more than 2,900 sites in Michigan. 

In the first year alone, 81 school districts met the challenge, with several schools far exceeding that aim.  Nearly five million more school breakfasts were served to Michigan school children in the first year of the two-year challenge. 

“Many school districts are stepping up and serving more breakfasts,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan.  “By serving more breakfasts, schools are seeing positive results such as increased student attentiveness, improved student behavior, and increased school attendance. 

National School Breakfast Week serves as a fitting time to recognize the dedicated and hardworking people who make the School Breakfast Program a reality in their community schools and urge all Michigan citizens to become aware of the solid foundation for learning provided by a nutritious school breakfast.