County Ranks Third in Serving School Breakfast

Cape May County ranks third statewide for providing school breakfast to children, which research shows improves students’ ability to succeed in school, according to data released by Advocates for Children of New Jersey.
New Jersey has one of the lowest school breakfast participation rates in the country, with just 28 percent of eligible students receiving this nutritious start to their school day.
“This is a problem with a win-win solution,” said Cecilia Zalkind, executive director of Advocates for Children of New Jersey. “Schools with a lot of children living in low-income families can give free breakfast to all kids at little or no extra cost. This is good for kids – and it’s good for schools, which benefit from improved student behavior and academic performance.”
In Cape May County, an average of 31 percent of eligible children receive school breakfast. This means that 2,562 eligible children are missing out on this important start to their school day.
Participation rates range from a high of 90 percent in Wildwood City to a low of zero in Dennis Township. If Cape May County achieved 100 percent participation, the county’s school districts would receive $778,327 in additional federal dollars, according to ACNJ.
Zalkind said ACNJ is releasing this district-by-district data to help school and local officials, county leaders, parents and nutrition experts identify districts that are doing well on this front – and those that need to rise up to meet the school breakfast challenge. The local data release follows a statewide report on school breakfast, available at www.acnj.org.
Although many districts serve breakfast through the federally-funded School Breakfast Program, the meal is usually served before school. Since many children cannot get to school with enough time to eat breakfast before the first bell rings, participation is low. Some school districts in New Jersey and around the country are overcoming this logistical challenge by serving breakfast in the classroom or using other innovative approaches.
ACNJ is urging districts with high student needs and low participation rates to adopt these innovative approaches, which include:
*Breakfast in the Classroom has been show to dramatically increase school breakfast participation, often to nearly 100 percent of students. Typically, food services staff pack meals into insulated totes and deliver them to each classroom. Custodial staff station garbage pails in each classroom where they are picked up after breakfast.
*Grab and Go Breakfast uses breakfast carts located at the entrance of the school or in other high-traffic hallways. Children “grab” a nutritious breakfast and “go” to their first period class.
*Second Chance Breakfast are delivered during a “nutrition break” in the morning. This is often used in high schools where teenagers may not be hungry when they first arrive at school.
Some New Jersey school districts, including Newark and Perth Amboy, are successfully using these innovative approaches to expand school breakfast participation. They note that providing free breakfast to all students increases their federal reimbursements, which cover the cost of the breakfast program.
“It has been a tremendous success,” said Tim Linden, Perth Amboy’s food services director. “It’s easy, clean and neat. The children are a lot less aggressive and more eager to learn. It has been a big win not only for parents and students, but for the district, as well.”
In addition to educating local officials about the issue, ACNJ has called on the state Departments of Education and Agriculture to provide leadership in helping schools achieve the goal of serving at least 60 percent of eligible children statewide.
“It is our hope that local, county and state officials and advocates will use this information to convince school boards and superintendents that expanding school breakfast makes sense for children, their districts and the state as a whole,” Zalkind said.
“This small investment can leverage the considerable funds we spend on educating children and keeping them healthy,” Zalkind added. “Our children need and deserve this healthy start to their school day.”
For more information, visit www.acnj.org.