Why eat Breakfast?

Breakfast is proven to be good for children’s bodies and their minds. Research shows that children who eat breakfast have improved memory, problem-solving skills, verbal fluency and creative abilities. School Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day for kids and provides the necessary fuel to start a day of learning and achievement. Research has shown that children who eat breakfast at school:

• Score better in standardized tests
• Have fewer health issues
• Behave better in class

Research also shows that kids who skip breakfast rarely make up for missed nutrients later in the day - so skipping breakfast could also affect the after school activities that they really love!

School Breakfast: Good for your Kids
School breakfast provides 25% of the recommended daily allowance of protein, calcium and iron, vitamins A and C and calories for your kids as well as meeting federal nutrition guidelines based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

What’s in a meal?
Menus change daily, but are designed to meet a child’s needs. The breakfast line-up includes this good stuff:
• Milk
• Fruits, 100% juice or vegetables
• Breads or other whole grains including cereal
• Meat and/or meat alternates

Source: School Nutrition Association 2009

BREAKFAST: An Energizing Start  to Your Day
Your breakfast choices help determine your energy level for the rest of your morning. When breakfast consists mostly of sugary foods, you experience a quick rise in your blood sugar, causing a surge in energy. But after about an hour, your blood sugar and energy both decline and you’re hungry again, long before lunch. Your breakfast can do more for you. A balanced breakfast (like the options offered at school) of carbohydrates, protein and fat causes a more gradual release of energy over the entire morning, maintains your blood sugar levels and delays hunger until it’s time for lunch. The easy breakfast options below are packed with nutrients from three or more food groups.
Source: ADA Public Relations Team

PARENT POINTER
Try some of these great tasting breakfast ideas to fuel your child’s day:

• Rice Pudding - Mix leftover rice, low-fat yogurt, dried fruit, nuts and cinnamon.
  Pita Pizza - Fill pita bread with your favorite low-fat cheese, cooked lean meat, and vegetables. Heat in microwave.
  Sandwich Roll-up - Try peanut butter and banana or jelly on a flour tortilla.
  Fruit Salad - Mix fruit with low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese and top with granola.
  Egg Burrito - Fill a soft flour tortilla with scrambled eggs, boiled potato, refried beans, or salsa.

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides benefits to students at participating schools. All RI schools participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).
•    Depending on family income and the number of family members, students could be eligible for free meals or reduced-price meals; these students can be charged no more than 40 cents.
•    If you completed an application at the beginning of the school year and your income situation changed, you can re-apply all year long.
•    Contact your school nutrition department to fill out a school meal application today.

As the cost of everything increases – there is one meal that is still a great value: both nutritionally and economically! School lunch is still an incredible value at Rhode Island school districts.

School Lunch Includes Five Great Choices:
•    Milk – Fat free or 1% - flavored or regular
•    Vegetables – From fresh carrot sticks to steamed broccoli
•    Fruit – Everything from pineapple to locally grown apples; often fresh
•    Grains – More whole grain items like rolls or sandwich bread
•    Meat or meat alternate – Items like white meat chicken, bean chili, lean beef

Save Money: Eat School Lunch
•    On average it costs less to buy a school lunch than to bring a lunch from home.
•    The estimated national average of a school lunch from home was $3.43 last school year.*

School Lunch vs. Bagged Lunch
$2.08          $3.43
Total savings = $243 per year!**

*According to a meal cost analysis by Alice Jo Rainville, PhD, RD, CHE, SNS of Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI

** Comparison of national averages when lunch is purchased every day for a 180-day school year.

Rhode Island Wellness Wise Newsletter for Parents, March 2009

Click here to download PDF

Several ARAMARK managers and staff volunteered their time during Christmas Break to implement the Cool*Caf concept to Windsor Elementary in Smithfield.

Below is the before & after gallery:

Rhode Island Wellness Wise Newsletter for Parents, February 2009

Contents:

• Getting Kids involved in Meal Planning
• Let’s Go Shopping!
• Parent Tips

Click Here to Download PDF file

1. How did RIDE select ARAMARK to provider of the Statewide School Food Service Program?

In 2006, after a transparent and detailed Request for Proposal (RFP) process in which other food management companies also participated, ARAMARK was selected for the following reasons:

-          Strongest nutrition and nutrition education programs

o        Experience delivering against stringent nutrition requirements

-          Lowest total cost provider and highest scores in all evaluation categories

-          Most comprehensive, thoughtful, and detailed operations plan

-          Highest capital investment for RI schools.

o        Technology, equipment, nutrition education, marketing, employee training

-          Significant economic and community investment in RI and strong presence in the region with over 9300 employees

-          Excellent relationships with RI organized labor

-          Demonstrated track record of successfully managing programs of similar size

2. What is RINR 2009?

The Rhode Island Nutrition Requirements 2009 (RINR 2009) are designed to increase consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as to utilize reduced sodium foods, products with more than 50% whole grains, 100% juice drinks with no added sugar or artificial sweeteners, and low and fat free milk.

ARAMARK’s program was specifically built to comply and implement these standards that exceed federal nutrition requirements for meals and snacks and it assures consistent implementation of these standards across the state.

3. How is this program transparent?

The Statewide School Food Service program is built upon complete fiscal transparency and accountability at all levels (State, district). Program benefits include:

-          No hidden fees or markups

-          Open-book procurement through bulk purchasing power

-          No complicated, time-consuming RFP process needed; districts can switch directly to program using pre-approved form contract.

4. If my school district adopts the Statewide School Food Service program, will local school administrators lose decision-making power over our own district’s food program?

No. ARAMARK works with individual districts to set menus, budgets, guarantees, investments, staffing, and selection of on site management team, including Food Service director. In addition, early termination of existing contracts is not necessary; Districts can choose to join program in advance of current contract expiration. In other words, local school districts retain ultimate control of their programs.

5. I am concerned that my school district switching onto the Statewide School Food Service Program means that local food service employees will lose their jobs.

Just as stated above, districts maintain ultimate control of their programs, including staffing.

6. Who can I contact if I have any questions about the School Food Service Program?

Please contact ARAMARK Food & Nutrition Services:

Dennis Gomez, District Manager

Email: gomez-dennis@aramark.com

We all know that getting kids to eat fruits and vegetables can be difficult; however it helps when you transform the environment around them to make it a fun, exciting experience. To read this article in the East Greenwich Pendulum, click the link below.

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