September 2014
And the School Breakfast Challenge Winners Are…
In 2013, the NJ Food for Thought New Jersey School Breakfast Campaign issued a challenge to districts to increase the number of students eating a healthy breakfast at school, giving them the fuel they need to concentrate and learn.
Sixty-two districts entered the challenge. Six winners were chosen – three from North/Central Jersey and three from South Jersey -- based on the greatest increase in the number of students eating breakfast at school during the challenge period, September 2013 to May 2014. Winning districts also had to have at least 50 percent of eligible, low-income students eating breakfast at school.
And the winners are…
North Jersey
- 1st place -- Bound Brook
- 2nd place -- New Brunswick
- 3rd place – East Newark
South Jersey
- 1st place -- Quinton
- 2nd place – Flosom
- 3rd place – Trenton
Bound Brook and Quinton both earned a $5,000 grant food service equipment grant and a visit from an NFL player. The 2nd and 3rd place winners received a $2,000 and $1,000 food service equipment grant, respectively, to sustain breakfast service.
The challenge was sponsored by the American Dairy Association, the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association, Advocates for Children of New Jersey, the New Jersey Education Association and the NJ Food for Thought School Breakfast Campaign.
ACNJ to Release 4th Annual School Breakfast Report
On Oct. 7 at 9:30 a.m., Advocates for Children of New Jersey will honor these districts and other school breakfast champs and release Food for Thought: 4th Annual New Jersey School Breakfast Report.
The event will be held at The Lafayette School, 50 W. High Street, Bound Brook, first place winner of the NJ School Breakfast Challenge among North Jersey districts. We will also recognize other school breakfast champs, including Jersey City, Union City, Camden, Egg Harbor City, among others.
Register today for this free event.
As more New Jersey kids live in families earning too little to meet their needs, providing school breakfast gives students the fuel they need to concentrate and learn. Come learn how easy it is to feed hungry students.
Learn more and register today!
New Report: Improving direct certification helps more low-Income children receive school meals
A new paper from the Food Research Action Center and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities describes how well states are doing and key steps to take to directly certify more eligible children. Improving direct certification helps children who are automatically enrolled for free meals and will help schools qualify for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), or for schools already using CEP, get a higher reimbursement rate next school year.
The Federal Communications Commission has released new policy that will make it easier for schools adopting the Community Eligibility Provision to apply for discounted telecommunications services and Internet access through the E-rate program. A school’s discount under E-rate is based on the share of its students approved for free- and reduced-price meals, information that CEP schools no longer collect. The new E-rate policy allows schools to use their CEP free claiming percentages starting in the 2015-2016 school year. There is no change for the 2014-2015 school year, with schools still using their percentages from the last year they collected applications.
AASA offering school breakfast grants
The School Superintendents Association is offering grants to help districts expand alternative school breakfast programs. The deadline to apply is Sept. 26. Click here to download an application. For more information, contact Kelly Beckwith at kbeckwith@aasa.org or 703-875-0758.
