Category Archives: Food and Nutrition

Education Corner: Starting the day ready to learn: It’s what’s for Breakfast

sbpMany children arrive to school without having eaten breakfast. Starting the day hungry is not conducive to learning. There is ample evidence behind the science of eating breakfast to start the day ready to learn and perform, and how school breakfast programs set the stage for students on a daily basis.

A 2013 study on the effects of breakfast on behavior and academic performance in students (Frontiers in Human Neuroscience August, 2013) revealed that effects of breakfast consumption and school breakfast programs positively affect learning in children, across socio-economic status, in terms of behavior, cognitive, and school performance.

edcornerThe Food Research and Action Center produced a brief of research findings in 2016 that demonstrated a correlation between breakfast and school performance among children.
In the Fairpark community, Backman Elementary School’s Breakfast in the Classroom Program is an exemplar of how students are ready to learn as a result of the structure to provide nutrition at the start of the day. A description of Backman’s breakfast program can be viewed at this link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=20&v=S02qUcxEmO8

Utahns Against Hunger: Utah Summer Food Program

FreeFood flyerSummer is on the way and that means the start of the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). The SFSP works to fill the nutrition gap between school years for low-income students who rely on free and reduced price breakfast and lunch programs. The summer food program begins after the school year ends, usually the beginning of June. Summer food sites in Utah are sponsored either by a school district’s food service program, the Utah Food Bank, or Salt Lake Head Start and they serve breakfast, lunch, and supper in parks and schools across the state. This is program is free to all kids 18 years and younger and there is no paperwork or registration required.

For the second year in a row, Utahns Against Hunger is running a literacy program on the west side of Salt Lake City.  Kids who attend the lunch program at Jordan Park on Tuesdays, Sherwood Park on Wednesdays, and Northwest Central Park on Thursdays will receive a free book all summer long!

Click on the photo for the Summer Food Service Program flyer. Our hope is that you are able to print this summer food flyer and share it with your network and neighbors. If possible, please display the summer food flyer today and leave till the end of July.

For a full list of summer food sites in your area please visit our web page where there are printable flyers and a searchable map.See a list of Salt Lake School District sites here (including Backman Elementary, Jackson Elementary, Rose Park Elementary and West High). Parks are also listed.

 

In addition, you can call Utahns Against Hunger at 800-453-3663 for assistance locating a site. You can also text FOOD to 877877 to find a location. All of this information is available on the flyer as well.

Please call if you have any questions.

Marti Woolford, Nutrition Initiatives Director

Utahns Against Hunger

801 328-2561 (office)

800 453-3663 (toll free)

www.uah.org

To increase access to food through advocacy, outreach, and education