Breakfast in the student center will be a new perk for Brownwood High School students in just a few weeks.  Thanks to a grant from General Mills and the America’s Dairy Farmers, a mobile food cart will greet students as they gather prior to class, and hopefully, encourage them to start their day off right.

A mobile breakfast station is the brainchild of BISD School Nutrition Director, Steve Locke.  Only about 100 out of 900 high school students eat breakfast in the cafeteria; which is a very poor percentage according to school officials.

“There’s a mountain of research that shows the positive benefits of eating breakfast,” said Locke.  Among them are higher test scores, more energy, and overall better health.

About half of the students come into school through the main entrance, which is quite a distance from the cafeteria.  In addition, many students are athletes who workout first thing in the morning.

“How do I get more kids to eat breakfast?” asked Locke to himself.  The answer – take breakfast to the students.

The Child Nutrition and Fitness Breakfast Grant, funded by General Mills in cooperation with America’s Dairy Farmers, helps improve student access to high-quality, nutritious foods at school.  The $3,000 grant will be used to purchase an insulated food cart.  In addition, another employee will be added to the cafeteria staff to provide the service.

The cart is not the first piece of equipment BISD has received from the milk industry. Dairy Max recently provided two new milk coolers for the Intermediate School and Coggin cafeteria.

Breakfast at the high school is $1.25 for paying students, 30 cents for reduced rate students, or free.  All students have an ID card that is scanned for “payment,” so there is no distinction between paid, reduced or free meals.

For more information on the School Nutrition Department or to make online payments for meals, visit www.brownwodisd.org and choose Inside BISD – School Nutrition.