All four of our schools will be hosting the "School Breakfast- Ready, Set, Go!." campaign to introduce students to the importance of school breakfast and demonstrate how eating a school breakfast prepares you for a busy day at school. The campaign was created by the non-profit School Nutrition Association with support from General Mills Foodservice. We want to invite every student to eat breakfast at his/her school during the week of March 8-12.

Everyone can agree on the importance of breakfast to student achievement, yet too many children miss out on the most critical meal of the day. Numerous studies have shown that breakfast can improve a student's memory, test scores, school attendance and cut down on visits to the school nurse. Research has also shown that children who eat breakfast each day have a higher intake of vitamins and minerals and maintain a healthier weight than those who skip breakfast.

Each school day, the National School Breakfast Program fuels more than 10.6 million students for success. The program is both critical to maintaining the health and well-being of children who are eligible for free or reduced price meals, and it provides a great alternative for children who don't want to eat breakfast at home.

School breakfast provides the necessary energy to start a day of learning and achievement, providing 25 percent of the recommended daily allowance of protein, calcium, iron, vitamins A and C and calories and meeting the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Examples of some of the healthy items the Fort Payne City Schools serve for breakfast include: whole grain cereal products, lowfat yogurt, fresh fruit, 100% fruit juice and lowfat milk.
 
The National School Breakfast Program was established in 1966. Since 1989, National School Breakfast Week has been raising awareness of the program and the links between eating a good breakfast, academic achievement and healthy lifestyles.

**Activity sheets for students can be found at www.schoolbreakfast.org
**Bridges to Wellness- Breakfast lesson plans for teachers can be found at www.schoolnutrition.org/bridgestowellness

Thanks to a USDA grant, students at Wills Valley Elementary School will have the opportunity to try many new fruits and vegetables this year. Some examples include: sweet potato sticks, sugar snap peas, jicama, grapples, muscadines, persimmons, pluots (dinosaur eggs), rutabega, star fruit, satsumas, kiwi, kumquats, mandarinquats, fresh coconut, papaya, kiwiberries, blood oranges, jack fruit, pomegranates and quince.

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) was signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1946. The NSLP provides nutritionally balanced low-cost and free meals to students.

Within the federally funded NSLP:
*Nationwide, 95% of schools participate and over 30 million children are served daily
*Dietary guidelines dictate no more than 30 percent of calories can come from fat and less than 10 percent from saturated fat
*Over the course of one week, lunches must provide 1/3 of the Recommended Dietary Allowances of protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, calcium and calories
*Well-balanced school lunches include protein, fruits and vegetables, grains and low-fat milk and are served in age-appropriate portions

Breakfast- $1.00 for students at all schools
$2.25 for parents & visitors

Lunch- $1.75 for students at Wills Valley Elementary, Williams Avenue Elementary and Fort Payne Middle School

Lunch- $2.00 for students at Fort Payne High School

Lunch- $3.25 for parents & visitors