Governor Bredesen Heralds School Breakfast Program

Nashville, TN – Governor Phil Bredesen has proclaimed March 3 - 7 School Breakfast Week in Tennessee in recognition of the important role the National School Breakfast Program plays in the lives of Tennessee students. The School Breakfast Program provides more than 30 million nutritionally balanced breakfasts to Tennessee students each year.

“Students who eat breakfast perform better in math and reading, and have better attendance, attention and behavior in school,” Governor Bredesen said. “The School Breakfast Program gives students a nutritious start to the school day and allows them to concentrate on the critical task of learning.”

Students for the first time this year are invited to enter a creative writing contest about how school breakfast helps fuel their imagination. The theme for National School Breakfast Week 2008 is “Fuel Your Imagination” to emphasize to students the benefits to eating breakfast. Winning entries will be professionally illustrated and published on the Web. Information about the contest and other learning materials for the week can be viewed at http://docs.schoolnutrition.org/meetingsandevents/nsbw2008/index.html.

“The School Breakfast Program, a partnership between agriculture and education, is an example of working together to provide what is best for students,” Acting Education Commissioner Tim Webb said. “The partnership better positions Tennessee to have healthy students who are ready to learn.”

“Whether a child is too sleepy to eat breakfast before he leaves home, or is not hungry when he catches an early bus, he can get an inexpensive, nutritious breakfast at school,” said Sarah White, Director of School Nutrition. “This program means no student should be distracted from their studies by hunger.”

Research has linked eating a nutritious breakfast to improved memory, problem-solving skills, verbal fluency and creative abilities. NSBW began in 1989 to raise awareness about the availability of breakfast for all students at school and to draw attention to the link between eating a good breakfast and cognitive growth. Permanently established in 1975, the National School Breakfast Program is funded through the United States Department of Agriculture.

For more information, contact Rachel Woods at (615) 253-1960 or Rachel.Woods@state.tn.us.