Eating up National School Breakfast Week

U.S. Agriculture Secretary marked National School Breakfast Week today by donning a hair net at a public school in Washington, D.C. and shoveling oatmeal onto trays. Not really. But he did call "for increased participation in the School Breakfast Program and advancing the health and nutrition of our nation's children."...

By Jonathan Shikes

March 8, 2010

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U.S. Agriculture Secretary marked National School Breakfast Week today by donning a hair net at a public school in Washington, D.C. and shoveling oatmeal onto trays.

Not really. But he did call "for increased participation in the School Breakfast Program and advancing the health and nutrition of our nation's children." Bold.

The program feeds 11 million kids at 88,000 schools and day care centers and is a part of the Child Nutrition Act, which Congress will consider reauthorizing this month. But it feeds far fewer kids than the school lunch program, which operates at 100,000 schools.

Which is a shame, especially in Denver, where the lunch program managed to make national news recently, not for its healthy choices, but because of a parent who complained that a special menu of fried chicken and collard greens and that was supposed to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. was instead enforcing stereotypes.

So what's on the breakfast menu at Denver Public Schools this week?

Monday Cereal and toast; waffles with syrup; PB&J

Tuesday Cereal and toast; yogurt baskets; cheese toast

Wednesday Cereal and toast; breakfast wrap; cinnamon roll

Thursday Cereal and toast; sunshine breakfast biscuit; quesadilla with salsa

Friday Cereal and toast; breakfast pizza; egg and toast

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