Teachers' Experience and Perspectives of Traditional Breakfast and Breakfast in the Classroom.
OBJECTIVE
To understand teachers' perceptions about Breakfast in the Classroom and traditional breakfast.


DESIGN
An electronic survey was sent to teachers across the state of Utah. Teachers responded to an open-ended question exploring what they liked and/or disliked about Breakfast in the Classroom and traditional breakfast.


SETTING
Schools across the state of Utah.


PARTICIPANTS
Kindergarten through grade 12 teachers who were members of the Utah Education Association.


PHENOMENON OF INTEREST
Teachers' opinions regarding Breakfast in the Classroom and traditional school breakfast ANALYSIS: Researchers independently coded all responses and then grouped codes into themes. Themes were reviewed recursively over time.


RESULTS
The 3 overarching themes were food and nutrition, administration of school breakfast, and student outcomes. Aspects most commonly disliked were the nutrition or quality of food, the mess created, the time required, coordination and logistical issues, behavioral issues, and waste. Aspects most commonly liked were breakfast being available to all students, students being fed or not hungry, coordination and logistics, and student learning and academics.


CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
Teachers liked and disliked aspects of Breakfast in the Classroom and traditional breakfast. Schools could potentially increase efforts to garner support and feedback from teachers to create buy-in and identify best practices. Future research could focus on identifying the effect that the School Breakfast Program model has on teachers' perceptions as well as confirming results with a larger and more diverse population.
Key determinants to school breakfast program implementation in Philadelphia public schools: Implications for the role of SNAP-Ed
Background Policies addressing food insecurity are only effective if they are implemented successfully, serving those most at risk. Universal school meals provide a key intervention to schools that serve predominantly low-income families by providing free school breakfast and lunch to all. Unfortunately, low uptake of such provisions among students is concerning especially regarding school breakfast, warranting key implementation support for schools to ensure student nutrition needs are met. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the determinants of implementing two different school breakfast programs and pragmatic strategies for serving breakfast in ways that maximize student participation. Methods A qualitative study was conducted between 2018 and 2020 within the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) comprising surveys, interviews, and observations to assess contextual determinants of two distinctive breakfast models: Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC) and Cafeteria after the Bell (CAB). Principals and lead kitchen staff completed surveys to assess determinants of breakfast model adoption. Principals, lead kitchen staff, classroom teachers, climate (i.e., social emotional wellbeing), and facilities staff subsequently participated in interviews to discuss implementation determinants (i.e., facilitators and challenges) and strategies for maximizing student participation. Observations provided rich data to triangulate interviews and survey data. Survey data were analyzed using frequency analysis, and observation and interview data were analyzed through thematic analysis. Presentation of themes was framed by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Results Results highlighted several positive determinants to participation including addressing student and family needs, making data-informed decisions, and providing hot meals and fruit based on student tastes. Negative determinants to implementation comprised challenges to SNAP-Ed-funded policy changes to promote student breakfast participation, lack of communication between administration, and staff and turnover among food service staff. Strategies included modifying school entrance procedures and combining breakfast with other education-related tasks to minimize instructional time lost through breakfast after the bell schedules. Discussion Data highlight the need to include implementation partner expertise when designing interventions for increasing reach and effectiveness of school meal programs. Future research that directly tests implementation strategies and key outcomes of reach/participation, among others, is critical to bridging the policy to practice gap in school nutrition programs.
Consumption and plate waste of menu items served in the National School Lunch Program.
Plate waste was determined in fifty-eight elementary and high schools in the USDA Western, Midwestern, and Southwestern Regions. By weighing sample trays and edible waste, the percentage of food served that was consumed was measured for 23,000 lunches. Highest consumption was recorded for milk, with 88 and 94 per cent consumed in the fifth and tenth grades respectively. Most entrées and starches were well consumed; vegetables and salads showed much less acceptability. Regional differences in food acceptability were minor, and high school students consistently wasted less food in all categories than did elementary pupils.