Breakfast is often described as "the most important meal of the day" and we agree, for many reasons. Studies have shown a direct correlation between eating a nutritious breakfast and how students perform at school.
Did you know that students who eat breakfast:
- Have higher test scores
- Have healthier body weights
- Are more alert
- Remember more of what they learn
- Miss less school
"A direct and positive link between pupils' breakfast quality and consumption, and their educational attainment, has for the first time been demonstrated in a ground-breaking new study carried out by public health experts at Cardiff University."
via Science Daily
We spoke with Dixon Grove Junior Middle School Principal, Neil Quimby about their ground-breaking student nutrition pilot program which is run by volunteers (parents) and students. The school serves between 700 - 1,000 hot breakfasts every month for as little as 50 cents each. In April, they served a total of 1,500 meals to their students.
Neil told us that since offering their breakfast program, students arriving late for school has decreased 80%. He also stated that students are far more focused in class, they're not falling asleep in the afternoon, and they're not cranky.
Their student's favourite day of the week... Pancake Wednesday!
According to a study published in the journal “Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine," state students who actively participated in school breakfast programs had significantly higher math scores than students who skipped or rarely ate breakfast. As an added benefit, the group of students who increased breakfast participation also had decreased rates of tardiness and absences.
Mr Quimby would agree!!
