Nutrition News         

Hartford Public Schools
Department of Food Services
and Nutrition Education
Vol. VII, Issue II, 1999-2000

A good breakfast is any combination of foods that supplies at least one fourth of the nutrients needed daily by the body. To simplify this concept, a good breakfast should include at least three of the five food groups. Foods selected for breakfast, together with other meals and snacks, should supply all the nutrients needed daily for energy, growth and body repair.
 

When you encourage students to eat breakfast at home or at school, you could be influencing their behavior. Children and adults who eat breakfast have a greater ability to concentrate and perform complex tasks.

Breakfast is served each morning before the start of school in your cafeteria. Encourage your students to bring a friend to breakfast and enjoy a variety of foods. There is no charge to students for school breakfast.

The University of Connecticut sent a nutrition survey to all elementary teachers last spring. Many teachers completed and returned the surveys. The staff of surveyors randomly selected five teachers from those who returned their surveys to receive $100.00 for their classrooms. The teachers were: Carole Gosselin (Betances); Heather Vega (Parkville- now at Fox Middle); Leslie Getter (Moylan now at McDonough); Ellen Frank (Wish); and Paige Calhoun (Batchelder). The Moylan School staff returned the most surveys, so Mr. Donald Carso received a $500.00 check for the school.

The students and staff at Broadview Alternate Education Center received the Golden Muffin Award for the greatest participation in the small school category last school year. Congratulations!!

Have you seen a cow cooler in your cafeteria? Many schools received free cow milk barrel coolers for participating in 6 milk related promotions with the Dairy Council. The portable coolers keep the milk cold for many hours because the internal cooling units are chilled at night.

The Dairy Council is providing free Pyramid Exploration (4th grade) and Pyramid Cafe (2nd grade) Nutrition education curriculums, and additional student activity sheets for teachers who received the curriculum last year. Please contact Susan Davis 522-4888 ext. 4253.

Over the course of a year, the typical child will be exposed to over 30,000 television commercials, many of them related to foods of questionable nutritional content. Unfortunately, children's food habits are reflective of the messages they receive. According to the USDA Healthy Eating Index, most American children have a diet that "needs improvement". For children in the 7-10 age group, 10% have a poor diet, 76 % need improvement in their diet, and only 14% consume a diet with a "good" rating. As children become teenagers, their score continues to decline.
 
 

Children can be taught the skills they need to become informed consumers. Even at an early age, children can evaluate products and begin to understand the motivation behind the commercial messages they see and hear. Contact Susan Davis for smart consumer activities.

Nutrition education classes may be scheduled throughout the school year by calling Susan Davis, Nutrition Education Coordinator- 522-4888 ext. 4253.