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Breakfast and Its Role in
Healthy Eating
By Brandon C. of PJMS
According to the Alliance for Healthy Generations “Healthy eating at
home prepares kids mentally and physically for their day." The point
they are making is that if you were to look at children that ate
breakfast during the morning and those who didn't, those who ate
breakfast probably did better that day or said- at least- that they had
a better day that day. At least one could infer that on most occasions
this would happen. There is no surefire way to determine what makes a
good student or what helps one learn or be attentive, but some believe
that one factor in helping one learn could be what and if they eat
during the morning. "Eating right doesn’t mean you have to give up good
food. One of the best ways to teach kids better eating habits is
including them in the process"(Healthy Homes). It is important that we
teach kids that dieting/eating healthy does not work if you are
skipping meals. You need to be eating the right types of foods
and making sure that you are eating every morning.
Along with eating breakfast before school, during school time there are
several options for breakfast as long as you arrive to school on time.
In Illinois there is an incentive for the schools to serve breakfast
for the school and for the students. According to the USDA,
"School Breakfast Policy: 105 ILCS 125/2.5 (2005) requires the state
board of education to fund a breakfast incentive program and make
grants available for school boards and welfare centers who agree to
start a school breakfast program with first priority to those schools
with more than 40% on free and reduced priced meals." This means
that, although not required, a good fraction of Illinois schools serve
quality breakfast in case you do not have the opportunity to have
breakfast on your own.
Our school, Percy Julian, is an example of this if you ever forget your
breakfast at Julian you have the opportunity to purchases breakfast for
approximately $2.30. Students are asked to arrive at school by 8:30 if
they plan to get breakfast, so that they are not late to first period
class. It would be helpful, if more states and schools did the same
breakfast program because currently a good fraction of the schools do
not have a policy on breakfast at all. It is something beneficial that
should be improved upon with most states that don't have policies or
schools that don't serve breakfast.
Works Cited
Alliance for a Healthier Generation. "Healthy Homes." Healthier
Generation. Alliance for a Healthier Generation, 2012. Web. 5 Dec.
2012. <http://www.healthiergeneration.org/parents.aspx>.
Alliance for a Healthier Generation. "Healthy Schools Program in
Alaska." Healthier Generation. Alliance for a Healthier
Generation, 2012. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.
<http://healthiergeneration.org/schools.aspx?id=4294967370>.
NASBE. "Healthy Schools." State School Health Policy Database.
NASBE, 2012. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.
<http://www.nasbe.org/healthy_schools/hs/>.
USDA. "School Meal Regulations." Food and Nutrition Service
Website. FNS, 2012. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.
<http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/governance/regulations.htm>.
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