24 Feb 2009
During the Week of March 2, Students Are Invited to Enjoy Free Breakfast
DALLAS–The Dallas Independent School District's Food and Child Nutrition Services Department will support the School Nutrition Associations' campaign to encourage students to participate in school breakfast programs in celebration of the National School Breakfast Week, observed from March 2 through March 6. Free breakfast will be offered to all students during this week.
Community members and district officials, including Actor Burton Gilliam; Bill Bragg, Voice of Big Tex; and Dallas Cowboy, Greg Ellis, will join cafeteria staff in serving breakfast to students at various schools throughout the district on Thursday, March 5, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. The new and very first Food and Child Nutrition Services mascot, Tom-Tom Tomatohead, will also make special appearances to meet students and to stress the importance of starting their day with a balanced school breakfast.
"School breakfast provides the necessary energy to start a day of learning and achievement, providing 25 percent of the recommended daily allowance of protein, calcium, iron, vitamins A and C and calories and meets the Dietary Guidelines for Americans," said Food and Child Nutrition Services-Nutrition Education Specialist, Amy Lopez.
The new look of school breakfast today includes whole grains, fresh fruit, and low-fat milk and yogurt. All school meals are served in age-appropriate portion sizes and Dallas ISD offers a variety of serving techniques – from convenient Grab & Go bags and hallway kiosks to traditional cafeteria service. Dallas ISD is currently offering breakfast at no cost to students at participating expanding breakfast program schools because of the proven value of eating breakfast.
"It is very important that children eat a meal in the morning," said Lopez. "Research shows that children who eat breakfast at schools score better on standardized tests, have fewer health issues, have fewer absences, and behave better in class."
The School Nutrition Association launched the National School Breakfast Week in 1989 to raise awareness about the importance of breakfast for all students at school and to draw attention to the link between eating a good breakfast and cognitive growth. The School Nutrition Association's National School Breakfast Week is supported by the National Dairy Council and General Mills Foodservice.
Some of the schools where community members and Dallas ISD school officials will be serving breakfast and where Tom-Tom Tomatohead the mascot will appear are: Charles A. Gill Elementary, San Jacinto Elementary, Alex Sanger Elementary, Louise Wolff Kahn Elementary, Arcadia Park Elementary, César Chávez Learning Center, Robert L. Thornton Elementary, Adelle Turner Elementary, Kleberg Elementary, Harold Wendell Lang Sr. Middle School, John B. Hood Middle School, Robert T. Hill Middle School, Benjamin Franklin Middle School, Boude Storey Middle School, William Hawley Atwell Law Academy, A. Maceo Smith High School, South Oak Cliff High School, David W. Carter High School, Hillcrest High School and Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center.
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