More Grand County School District students are taking advantage of free breakfasts through the new Start Smart Utah Breakfast Program.
The Utah Legislature took up the issue of school breakfasts in 2020 to ensure all Utah students have access to breakfast at school through the national School Breakfast Program of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966.
With funding from a No Kid Hungry grant, Grand County School District purchased grab-n-go breakfast carts for all of the schools to offer alternative breakfast options in the classrooms and outside of the cafeterias.
"Traditional breakfast in the cafeteria has been limited due to time constraints before school," Grand County Director of Child Nutrition Alysha Packard said. "A lot of kids don't have time to eat breakfast between getting to school and going to class in the morning. These new carts will give students more opportunities and locations to access breakfast throughout the morning."
The breakfast grab-n-go carts are filled with wholesome foods packaged by the kitchen staff with various fruits, whole grains and milks that meet national standards for nutrition in school meals.
Packard has been designing the alternative breakfast model for the high school and will soon implement a similar program at the middle school followed by the elementary school in the fall.
Breakfast is free for all students for the 2021-22 school year.
"Studies show that students who eat breakfast at school have fewer attendance issues, fewer behavioral problems, higher test scores and perform better academically," Packard said. Further research indicates that skipping breakfast impacts physical health, sleep patterns, happiness and mental health. "Healthy school breakfast is just one way we fuel success for each student, every day."
Photo:
Grand County High School students gather around the new school breakfast grab-n-go cart before they head to their morning classes. Pictured left to right: Ty Wedgeworth, Angel Marquez, Tallulah Maher-Young, Natalie Skowbo, Cadence Kasprick, Maggie Groene, Ryland Boretti, Jacob Jones and Kip Sevenoff. [Photo by Grand County School District]