It’s no secret breakfast is the most important meal of the day. For school-aged children, breakfast is even more important as it provides fuel to start the school day focused on learning.
National School Breakfast Week raises awareness of school breakfast availability and its importance for learning. March 6-10, 2017, marked the 28th annual celebration of National School Breakfast Week.
To celebrate National School Breakfast week, Dairy MAX created the #FuelGreatness Breakfast Games. First launched in 2015, the Olympic-style events are full of healthy food, physical activity, celebrity appearances, and of course plenty of milk.
“To be selected for the Breakfast Games, each school must be an engaged Fuel Up to Play 60 school with an alternative breakfast program, like Grab ‘n’ Go Breakfast or Breakfast in the Classroom,” says Chaun Vaughn, school wellness consultant at Dairy MAX.
Now in its third year, Dairy MAX took the 2017 Breakfast Games to Zelma Hutsell Elementary in Katy, Texas; Zavala Elementary in Corpus Christi, and Vestal Elementary in San Antonio.
The Breakfast Games brought star power to schools with 65 VIP guests present at the events. Guests included: school administration, school partners, local health professionals, community partners - AgriLife extension, Children at Risk, Marathon Kids, Texas Wildlife, business partners - Brookshire Brothers, and Bass Pro Shops, as well as health and wellness partners.
Duane Brown of the Houston Texans and Byron Jones of the Dallas Cowboys were the NFL players supporting the events. Alex Villarreal, Fuel Up to Play 60 state student ambassador, eagerly carried the Olympic torch into the Corpus Christi Breakfast Games in support of fellow Fuel Up to Play 60 students. Additionally, dairy farmers Mike and Jennifer Zapalac of Schulenburg, Texas, and Wade Bingham of Rio Vista, Texas, showed their support for Fuel Up to Play 60 by attending the Breakfast Games.
“To start the day off, the Fuel Up to Play 60 student teams had breakfast with the featured player and special guests,” Vaughn says. “This showed the kids eating breakfast is healthy and the opportunity to see players eating breakfast as well.”
A total of 12 media outlets covered all three Breakfast Game events from start to finish.
“The breakfast at the beginning of each event showcased the alternative breakfast program for the media,” Vaughn states.
Once the students fueled up with a healthy breakfast, the games began. Students took turns with the player, Fuel Up to Play 60 state student ambassador and dairy farmer carrying in the Olympic-style torch to kick off the games.
The competitions focused on activities to remind students to stay active and follow the MyPlate guidelines through games and activities.
“Three teams of five students competed against each other in the obstacle course that incorporated MyPlate and physical activity,” Vaughn says.
The special guests were actively involved in the games as well.
“Our partners acted as cheerleaders to encourage and help the kids through the activities,” Vaughn says.
At the conclusion of the games, teams were awarded gold, silver and bronze medals for their accomplishments.
The Breakfast Games provided the perfect peak to National School Breakfast week, reminding students and adult attendees alike, of the importance of school breakfast. And that’s as good as gold.
