Newark Leads State Push for More School Breakfasts

Newark students are the champions of breakfast.

Nearly 1,500 students at East Side High School chowed down on reduced sugar Froot Loops and milk Tuesday morning as part of a growing state-wide effort ensuring children receive nutritious meals to start their day off right.

The "Breakfast After the Bell" program has helped 28,000 more students from low-income families in New Jersey, including many in Newark, get a healthy morning meal right in the classroom, according the second annual School Breakfast Report released Tuesday. New Jersey ranks the 48th in the nation for participating in the federal School Breakfast Program, a meal assistance initiative that helps states operate breakfast programs in schools.

"We don't need studies, we don't have to have anyone telling us how important breakfast is," said state Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher. "If you start your day with breakfast, the chances are you're going to have a better day."

The breakfast report, part of the Food for Thought School Breakfast Campaign led by Advocates for Children of New Jersey and the New Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition, showed a 21 percent increase in students receiving breakfast from October 2010 to March of this year. The campaign sets out to increase the number to 30 percent by June 2013.

And there's room for improvement: Just 35 percent of nearly 471,000 students eligible for free or reduced-price meals received it in March 2012.

Newark, the state's largest school district, is one of the top-ranking to serve students eligible for free or reduced meals, with 71 percent of more than 30,300 eligible students served, according to the report.

East Side High School is the only high school in Newark – and one of the few in the state – to participate in "Breakfast After the Bell," in which students take 10 minutes every morning to eat a nutritious meal, like cereal, milk and fruit, in class while the teacher begins instruction. 

Since 2005, the district has been serving breakfast to its students – from elementary school to high school – and now serves as many as 29,000 breakfasts a day across 80 schools, according to Valerie Wilson, the district's chief financial officer and business administrator. She said serving breakfast has netted nearly $3 million in revenue through a reimbursement program.

About 87 percent of Newark students qualify for free or reduced lunch, she said.

"If you provide a program that's cost effective, that brings you some revenue, helps increase students' nutritional health and also can potentially bring up academics, I think it's a win all the way around," Wilson said.

Wilson said the goal is to boost the number of Newark high schools participating in "Breakfast After the Bell." Currently, high school students eat breakfast in the cafeteria and not in the classroom.

New Jersey Education Commissioner Chris Cerf, who was joined by Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Superintendent Cami Anderson Tuesday at East Side High School, said making sure each child receives a school breakfast every day is a priority for his administration.

"One thing that isn't hard to do is to use common sense to make sure that every child starts the day with enough food and sustenance to be ready to learn," he said, jokingly adding, "And it will shock you to hear that every once in a while government gets in the way of doing the right thing."

East Side senior Deliris Diaz underscored the correlation between eating well-balanced breakfast and excelling in the classroom.

"For me and my busy schedule … I don't have time every morning to have a cup of orange juice or toast. Instead, I have to get up and get out the door without breakfast being my main concern," she said. "Instead of worrying about the next meal during class, students have to worry about the next quiz."