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http://www.breakfastfirst.org/

Everybody Eats!  Breakfast for Learning

A California Child Nutrition Task Force Campaign

In early 2002, Sharon Davis, First Lady of California, convened the California Child Nutrition Task Force. The Task Force is a blue ribbon committee consisting of major stakeholders aligned around children's nutrition, health and educational opportunity. The Task Force is committed to expanding participation in the federal child nutrition programs in California.  These are the best available resources with which to prevent the unconscionable presence of childhood hunger and to combat rising obesity in California today.

The Task Force's campaign will initially focus on the School Breakfast Program. Despite its well-documented importance to nutrition and academic performance, this federally funded entitlement program is severely underutilized. More than one million low-income California children who have been certified for free and reduced-price school meals miss out on school breakfast. These children are the primary target for the Task Force's campaign.

Materials

• Everybody Eats! Breakfast for Learning. (great one-pager with general info. and  FAQs)                                

• Brochure (for food service directors and school business officials)

• PowerPoint Presentation (a CA School Food Service Association presentation)

• Two-pager ( School Breakfast Program basics)

• Improving Meal Quality in California’s Schools (CFPA, revised May 2003)

• Universal Classroom Breakfast: A Simple Solution (a report on how classroom breakfast can be a simple solution, with examples from across the country)

• An article on how Palm Elementary School in Orosi, CA cuts tardiness, behavior problems, nurse visits, and low test scores by serving breakfast in the classroom sets a positive example.

                                        

  How do I start an innovative breakfast program?

• Visit a model school program.

• Consider using Provision 2 or 3.

• Apply for a start-up or expansion grant from the CA Dept of Education.

• Start a pilot program at 1 or 2 schools.

• Get a buy-in from principals, teachers, and custodians.

• Solicit support from the Parent Teacher Association.

• Invite local legislators to come have breakfast with the students.

• Promotion!

• Contact CFPA for technical assistance and to showcase your best practices.

CA Child Nutrition Task Force Affiliates*:      

• Peggy Agron, CA Department of Health Services                         

• Marty Axelson, President, CA Association of School Educators

• Amy Beckstrom, Hawthorne School District

• Peggy Biltz, CEO, Dairy Council of California

• Phyllis Bramson-Paul, Director of Nutrition Services, CA Department of Education

• Zoe Ann Briscoe, President, CA School Food Service Association  

• Heidi Camorongan, Director of Food Services, West Contra Costa Unified School District

• Joel Cohen, Senior Policy Analyst, California Research Bureau, California State Library

• Jan Harp Domene, President, California State PTA

• Susan Foerster, Chief, Cancer Prevention and Nutrition Section, CA Dept. of Health Services

• Adonai Mack, Policy Analyst, Office of the Secretary for Education  

• Erin Gable, Project Director, Bay Area Partnership

• Harold Goldstein, Executive Director, CA Center for Public Health Advocacy

• Martin Gonzalez, Assistant Executive Director, Policy Services, CA School Board Association

• Danielle Guttman, Executive Vice President, Entertainment Industry Foundation

• Kenneth Hecht, Executive Director, CA Food Policy Advocates

• Amy Lins, Oakland Unified School District

• Therese Llanes, Nutrition Policy Specialist, CA Dept. Health Services, Cancer Prevention & Nutrition Section  

• Adonai Mack, Policy Analyst, Office of the Secretary of Education

• Jennifer Metta, Dairy Council of California

• Edward James Olmos, Actor

• Karen Pertschuk, CA Food Policy Advocates

• Dr. Lloyd Porter, Chair of Child Nutrition Advisory Council, CA Teacher’s Association

• Dennis Riley, Administrative Assistant, Entertainment Industry Foundation

• Lia Robinson, Director of Nutrition, Moreno School District/Past State Chair, CASBO

• Michael Robitaille, Executive Director, The End Hunger Network

• Lynette Rock, Nutrition Network Project Director, Hawthorne School District

• Cory Sanfilippo, Health Commissioner, California State PTA  

• Al Schieder, Director of Child Nutrition, Folsom-Cordova Unified School District

• Debby Schmidt, Supervisor of Child Nutrition, Folsom Cordova Unified School District

• Herb Schultz, Deputy Director for External Affairs, Department of Managed Health Care

• Chila Silva-Martin, Child Nutrition Unit, CA Department of Education                     

• Nancy Spradling, CA School Nurses Association

• Alexa Vega (Gina Rue), Actress, c/o End Hunger Network                                            

• Kim Wade, Education & Advocacy Director, Food Banks of Northern California

• Daphna Ziman, Children Uniting Nations

*Listing of organizational affiliation is provided for purposes of identification only and does not necessarily signify an organization's endorsement of the Task Force's campaign to promote universal classroom breakfast.                 

If you would like more information, please contact Lucy Hicks at lucyhicks@cfpa.net