MDHS Congratulates Winners of Statewide School Breakfast Contest
Maryland Hunger Solutions congratulates the 2011-2012 winners of the statewide School Breakfast Contest and thanks the Maryland State Department of Education for its commitment to increasing participation in the School Breakfast Program. The top three schools were Carrollton Elementary School in Prince George’s County; Highland Elementary School in Montgomery County; and Lewisdale Elementary School in Prince George’s County.
Winning schools all had significant increases in school breakfast participation in March 2012 as compared to March 2011.
Rounding out the top ten were:
- Langley Park Elementary, Rogers Heights Elementary, Riverdale Elementary, and Springhill Lake Elementary School of Prince George’s County
- Meade Middle School and Freetown Elementary of Anne Arundel County
- Ridge Elementary of St Mary’s County
“When schools make it a priority to increase the school breakfast program, we can see that their efforts reap success. Maryland Hunger Solutions congratulates all the schools that participated in this contest and made breakfast a priority for their students,” said Cathy Demeroto, director of Maryland Hunger Solutions.
Demeroto also noted that a majority of the winning schools also recently adopted programs that serve breakfast in the classroom or via grab-and-go carts. Research, including a recent report (LINK) released by Maryland Hunger Solutions, show that schools that move breakfast service out of the cafeteria see higher participation rates in the program.
- Six of the top ten schools are in Prince George’s County and participated in the Partners for Breakfast in the Classroom Project, including the first and third place winners – Carrollton Elementary and Lewisdale Elementary. A collaboration between four national nonprofits (the Food Research and Action Center, the National Association of Elementary School Principals Foundation, the National Education Association Health Information Network, and the School Nutrition Foundation) and funded by the Walmart Foundation, the project helped schools implement breakfast in the classroom programs. Maryland Hunger Solutions worked with the Partners, providing technical assistance to Prince George’s County to ensure the success of the project.
- Two of the top ten schools – Meade Middle School and Freetown Elementary School in Anne Arundel County participated in the First Class Breakfast initiative – a project of the Governor’s Partnership to End Childhood Hunger. The project – funded by Kaiser Permanente and Share Our Strength, and staffed by Maryland Hunger Solutions – assisted schools in adopting alternative breakfast models, including breakfast in the classroom, grab-and-go breakfast, and second-chance breakfast, in seven jurisdictions during the 2010-2011 school year.
Learn more by visiting Maryland Hunger Solutions website:
- Get the basics on school breakfast.
- See participation stats for your county (pdf).
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Maryland Hunger Solutions is the lead research, public education, and advocacy group in Maryland dedicated to using public programs to end hunger in Maryland. Maryland Hunger Solutions is an initiative of the Food Research and Action Center. For more information, visit www.mdhungersolutions.org or follow us on Twitter.
