Tools You Can Use
From toolkits to one-pagers, marketing materials to webinars, we’ve got the resources needed to make sure all students have access to the fuel they need to learn. Find Nebraska-specific resources and success stories tailored by school and district decision-maker below.
Download the Nebraska School Breakfast Report
Nebraska Appleseed and Go Big Breakfast have released the Nebraska School Breakfast Report, Year 2018-19. The report identifies pockets of success and new opportunities to ensure hungry students get a nutritious breakfast at school to support their classroom achievement.
Report highlights:
- Nebraska ranks 48th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia in the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-priced school breakfast who also participate in lunch (44.7 percent).
- Programs like alternative breakfast models and universal free meal options are under-utilized in Nebraska, resulting in less federal reimbursement and fewer students getting the food they need.
Support for the report was provided by the Food Research and Action Center, Walmart Foundation, and Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom.
Tools by Stakeholder
Your Role in School Breakfast
A school’s food service team is the backbone of a strong school breakfast program – they know their students and can lead the charge to implement an alternative breakfast model. Learn more about how to roll out a successful alternative breakfast model and increase participation, all while strengthening your bottom line.
Why alternative breakfast models?
- Parents should have a voice in planning for an alternative breakfast model. A strong communication plan, opportunities for feedback, and sharing benefits can help address most parent concerns.
- Alternative breakfast models can increase participation and revenue. These additional funds can be used to offset other school nutrition program costs.
- Administrators make decisions but nutrition staff work directly with kids. If you see hunger in your school or district, talk about exploring or piloting breakfast models that serve more kids.
- No need to change bus or classroom schedules. Breakfast in the Classroom, Grab and Go, and Second Chance have been successfully implemented without schedule changes in classrooms across Nebraska.
Nutrition Staff-Specific Resources
Alternative Breakfast Models for Nebraska Nutrition Staff: Nebraska-specific information for Nutrition Directors and staff including common concerns and solutions that have proven useful in other districts.
Choosing the Right Breakfast Model: Learn about the different Breakfast After the Bell models and determine which models suit your community best.
Pre-Implementation Checklist: Preparing for implementation can make the transition from traditional cafeteria breakfast to Breakfast After the Bell smoother and increase the chances of maintaining a successful breakfast program. Allowing for adaptations during early implementation can help improve your program along the way. This resource provides a detailed checklist that schools can use to help prepare for Breakfast After the Bell implementation.
Breakfast After the Bell Rollout Timelines: The Breakfast in the Classroom and Grab and Go to the Classroom Rollout Timelines outline action steps school stakeholders can take to help prepare for the launch of Breakfast After the Bell. The rollout timelines span both long-term action steps and short-term action steps — starting at 8 weeks before implementation and counting down each week until launch.
Menu Planning: There are many things to consider when building a Breakfast After the Bell menu. Food must meet USDA guidelines and be appealing to kids. Food must also be easily transportable and easy to consume in the classroom. These sample menus and menu planning tools can help you build your menu and succeed in the kitchen as well as with kids.
Equipment Tips: Determining the equipment needs of your Breakfast After the Bell program can be a daunting process. Let this resource help guide you in choosing what equipment would be useful for whichever Breakfast After the Bell model you choose.
Financial Management: The financial impact of expanding school breakfast can be calculated so you have an idea how it will affect the budget. Here are multiple resources that schools can use to determine how expanding school breakfast will affect the revenue and overall operation of breakfast, and analyze variable costs versus fixed costs.
Participation Tips And Student Surveys: High breakfast participation is the result of many different aspects of the breakfast program running smoothly, from the logistics of the program, to gaining buy-in from the student body. These resources showcase tips and tactics schools can use to increase breakfast participation.
Your Role in School Breakfast
Superintendents, their staff, and school principals must be in touch with and responsive to student needs. Strong participation in school breakfast can lead to stronger academic outcomes, fewer behavioral issues among students, and improved school health. Learn more about how Breakfast After the Bell can help your school be the best it can be. Offering leadership that brings teachers, staff, and custodians on board for alternative breakfast models is critical to their success.
Why alternative breakfast models?
- When kids eat breakfast they perform better on tests, exhibit fewer behavior problems, and visit the school nurse less often. Schools have improved test scores, reduced behavioral issues, and calmer classrooms.
- Alternative breakfast models can increase participation and revenue. These additional funds can be used to offset other school nutrition program costs.
- Resistance to alternative breakfast models from teachers, parents, custodians, and others can be overcome by inclusive planning, communication, and strong leadership.
- No need to change bus or classroom schedules. Breakfast in the Classroom, Grab and Go, and Second Chance Breakfast have been successfully implemented without schedule changes in classrooms across Nebraska.
Administrator-Specific Resources
Alternative Breakfast Models for Nebraska Administrators: Nebraska-specific information for district and school administrators including common concerns and responses are in this document.
Alternative Breakfast Models 101 Videos: Geared towards teachers and principals, these short videos outline how Breakfast After the Bell benefits students and classrooms, and how Breakfast After the Bell can be a seamless part of the instructional day in four easy steps.
School Breakfast – Healthier Than You Think: School breakfast often gets a bad rap for being unhealthy, when in reality the food options served at breakfast must adhere to strict nutritional guidelines and are often much healthier than store-bought breakfast.
Innovative Breakfast Delivery Options: Breakfast After the Bell models often incorporate elements of multiple models and can look different in each school; however, three models in particular are the most effective at increasing breakfast participation. Learn about each Breakfast After the Bell Model and choose which model best suits your school’s needs.
Breakfast in the Classroom Myths: This easy-to-read document addresses common myths and about Breakfast in the Classroom and provides information to dispel concerns you or your staff may have.
Implementation Tools: This collection of tools includes a Pre-implementation Checklist, Breakfast After the Bell Rollout Timelines and a Breakfast in the Classroom Activity Guide. Each tool is unique, but they all complement each other nicely to create an extensive set of implementation tools that can guide multiple school stakeholders on how to create a successful Breakfast After the Bell launch.
How School Meals Reach Students: This resource traces the path of the funding that supports school breakfast and lunch from Congress to cafeteria. It also answers common questions that educators have about how the programs work.
Your Role in School Breakfast
Teachers can sense when kids are hungry, tired, and can’t focus. That’s why they dig into their pockets to pay for snacks and food for students during the day. Making breakfast a seamless part of the day with alternative breakfast models can have a huge positive impact on classrooms and schools. Learn more about how breakfast can impact your classroom.
Why alternative breakfast models?
- Alternative Breakfast Models don’t cut into instructional time. When breakfast is served in the classroom, many teachers use the time to take attendance, collect homework, or make announcements.
- More breakfast participation leads to calmer classrooms. Fewer referrals, increased respect, and better behavior mean more instruction time for teachers.
- Classroom breakfast cleanup is quick and easy. Schools can develop plans with custodians, teachers, and kids that make sense for your building.
- School breakfast is a balanced breakfast. Kids who eat breakfast at school are more likely to have a balanced diet.
Resources
Alternative Breakfast Models for Nebraska Teachers: Nebraska-specific information for teachers including common concerns and solutions that have proven useful in other districts.
Alternative Breakfast Models 101 Videos: Geared towards teachers and principals, these short videos outline how Breakfast After the Bell benefits students and classrooms, and can be a seamless part of the instructional day in four easy steps.
Breakfast in the Classroom Myths: This easy-to-read document addresses common myths and concerns about Breakfast in the Classroom, and provides facts and testimony from teachers who have already implemented.
School Breakfast – Healthier Than You Think: This resource provides teachers with helpful nutritional information about school breakfast. School Breakfast often gets a bad rap for being unhealthy, when in reality the food options served at breakfast must adhere to strict nutritional guidelines, and are often much healthier than store-bought breakfast.
How School Meals Reach Students: This resource traces the path of the funding that supports school breakfast and lunch from Congress to cafeteria. It also answers common questions that educators have about how the programs work.
Classroom Set Up and Clean Up: This resource outlines how classrooms can be affected by Breakfast After the Bell, and shares best practices on how to create a plan for classroom set-up and clean up where breakfast is served or eaten.
Breakfast After the Bell Rollout Timelines: These Rollout Timelines outline action steps stakeholders can take to help prepare for the launch of Breakfast After the Bell. The rollout timelines span both long-term and short-term action steps — starting at 8 weeks before implementation and counting down each week until launch.
Classroom Activity Guide: The New York City Department of Education’s guide for teachers contains ideas for classroom activities, rules, structure and weekly schedules that you can adapt to your own school learning environment and state guidelines.
Your Role in School Breakfast
Parents and caregivers know their kids best. Advocating for the health and wellness of their kids by asking good questions and holding schools accountable to choices they make around school breakfast is a great step toward better breakfast.
Why alternative breakfast models?
- School breakfast makes mornings easier. One less meal to prepare will reduce the morning to-do-list and send your kids out the door faster.
- School breakfast meets strict federal nutritional guidelines for a balanced meal. It’s an easy way to make sure your child starts the day ready to learn.
- Alternative breakfast models give kids a second chance to eat. Whether your teenager isn’t hungry first thing in the morning, wants to sleep in, or they have a long bus ride, alternative breakfast models make sure they aren’t starting the day hungry.
- School breakfast helps your child learn. Hungry students often have trouble focusing. When kids eat breakfast they perform better on tests, have fewer behavioral problems, and visit the school nurse less often.
Resources
Alternative Breakfast Models for Nebraska Parents/Caregivers: Nebraska-specific information for parents including common concerns and solutions that have proven useful in other districts.
National School Breakfast Resources
- USDA Resources for starting school breakfast
- Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) School Breakfast resources
- No Kid Hungry Center for Best Practices on meal service
- American Dairy Association Breakfast After the Bell resources
- Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom