Implementing a Successful Breakfast Program and getting kids excited about breakfast is a challenge.

As our mothers always told us, Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Research has shown that children who eat breakfast achieve better grades in school and have better health habits than those who skip. More and more schools are signing on to the national school breakfast program. 31 million children participate in the school lunch program according to the USDA, while schools provide breakfast to 10.5 million children each day. With more and more schools successfully implementing breakfast programs the challenge is still, how do you get the kids excited about participating in the breakfast program.

According to the centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 76 million cases of food borne illness occur in the United States each year, resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths.  School cafeterias serve millions of meals each day and most meals are perfectly safe.  However, when food safety problems occur in a school cafeteria, they are especially dangerous because children have a higher risk of experiencing complications from food borne illnesses.

I know it sounds like a cliché but it truly is the small details that can deliver the greatest impact to your food service operation.  As budgets are tightened and you find that you have no chance for new equipment purchases there are some changes that can be made.  An outdated serving line can be given a new facelift just by taking the focal point off of the serving line and coming up with innovative ways to improve the overall appearance of the servery

If you budget is too tight to update your cafeteria with new equipment or signage perhaps there are other ideas that could shake things up.

The modern school cafeteria includes everything from vegetarian offerings to international cuisine. Students today have more choices than ever and with nutrition being on the forefront of many food service adminstrators’ minds, they need to be even more unique in the way they market food.