School breakfast gets a makeover

He placed toast, yogurt, chocolate milk, a carton of cereal and orange juice on a classroom table. Paul, 11, didn't have time to eat a morning meal in the school cafeteria, so he brought the sack breakfast back to his fifth-grade classroom at Interlochen Community School. Paul always tries to eat breakfast.

"I think it gives me more energy because ... after I wake up and have some orange juice, it gives me a kick," he said.

Traverse City Area Public Schools is one of the local districts looking for ways to bump up the number of breakfast eaters. TCAPS food service director Kristen Misiak said Interlochen students who are running late can eat breakfast in the classroom. The school plans to expand the program after spring break to allow all children to choose between eating in the cafeteria or taking a bagged breakfast back to class. Misiak believes that step could grow breakfast participation.

"We have as a goal to continue to increase student achievement. We are really putting a big emphasis on breakfast so that we can," she said.

TCAPS has also added more hot breakfast items, which attract students. The district serves 2,000 to 3,000 breakfasts a day, including full-price, free and reduced-price meals.

Nationally, about 8.5 million children ate a school breakfast on an average day during the 2007-2008 school year, according to the Food Research and Action Center. That reflects a 4 percent increase from the previous year, but school lunch programs remain vastly more popular nationwide.

As the economy sours, school districts are reporting a surge of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals. TCAPS usually has about 3,500 students who qualify, but now has more than 3,700, Misiak said. Suttons Bay Public Schools and Kingsley Area Schools officials also reported more interest.

At Suttons Bay, food service director Mary Dingrando is adding new menu items to encourage more breakfast eaters.

"I brought in cheese omelettes," she said. "We are definitely trying to pump up the kids to eat breakfast, and I would say the numbers have risen."

Eric Matusik, director of dining services for Mancelona Public Schools, tried out a free universal breakfast program earlier this year for elementary and middle school students.

"This is something that we might look at again in May and run through the end of the school year -- this time, hopefully, promote it properly," he said.

National nutritionists believe students skip school breakfast because of concerns they might be viewed as "poor," because parents aren't aware of the program and because students don't arrive at school in time. But breakfast is a key to health and academic success.

On a recent morning at Interlochen, youngsters loaded trays with scrambled eggs in the cafeteria. A bell rang in the hallway and students trickled out.

In a nearby classroom, Taylor Baatz, 11, sat at a desk with sausage, berry yogurt and other items and ate as announcements were read over a speaker.

Taylor eats breakfast daily, but doesn't have a food favorite. "I basically like all, and even if I haven't tried it, I always try it first," Taylor said.

Photos

Paul Fico, 11, has breakfast in his Interlochen Community School classroom on Friday morning. Record-Eagle

Fifth- graders David Montgomery, 11, left, and Taylor Baatz, both 11, eat in their Interlochen Community School classroom while teacher Mary Jane Collins, top right, talks to the class. Record-Eagle