Breakfast After the Bell Models and Resources
Despite the benefits of school breakfast, the program is underutilized – over 22 million kids get a free or reduced-price school lunch on an average school day, yet only 12 million of those kids get free or reduced-price school breakfast.
Traditional school breakfast programs often have barriers that prohibit students from eating breakfast before school, such as:
Transportation
The school bus doesn’t arrive in time for kids to get breakfast in the cafeteria.
Busy mornings
Regardless of their socioeconomic status, many families are rushed in the morning and don’t always have time for breakfast at home.
Stigma
There is often stigma associated with eating breakfast in the cafeteria before school starts; therefore, children avoid it, especially middle- and high-school students, for whom social status and the perceptions of their peers loom large.
Lack of resources
For low-income families, there simply may not always be enough food at home for kids to have a healthy breakfast.
Across the state, educators, parents and community leaders are removing these barriers for kids by implementing Breakfast After the Bell programs. Because each school is unique, schools often create their own individualized Breakfast After the Bell programs that combine elements of multiple models so they can fully cater to the needs of their students and staff.
Breakfast In The Classroom
Students eat breakfast in their classroom after the official start of the school day, which can be counted as instructional time. Students or staff deliver breakfasts to classrooms from the cafeteria via cooler or insulated rolling bags. Breakfast in the Classroom takes 15 minutes on average. School reach 88% breakfast participation on average with this model.*
Grab and Go
Students pick up conveniently packaged breakfasts from mobile service carts in high traffic areas that are convenient to students, such as hallways, entryways or cafeterias.
Students can eat in their classroom or in a common area before and after the bell has rung. Schools reach 59 percent breakfast participation on average with this model.*
Tips for Implementing an Effective Grab and Go Breakfast Program
Second Chance Breakfast
Students eat breakfast during a break in the morning, often between first and second period or midway between breakfast and lunch. Schools can serve breakfast using a Grab and Go model, or they can open the cafeteria to serve breakfast during the break. Second Chance Breakfast can be effective for middle or high school students who may not be hungry first thing in the morning or prefer to socialize with friends.
Schools reach 58 percent breakfast participation on average with this model.*
* Participation is measured by the average daily participation of free- and reduced-price school breakfast eaters / average daily participation free- and reduced-price school lunch eaters.
