1. family and parenting
2. children

Breakfast
Every Day
fuel to learn
and energy to
excel
A ‘how to’ guide
to establishing a breakfast
program at school
Written by Tracy Spark
Healthy Cities Illawarra
Funded by the NSW Department of Community Service’s
Area Assistance Scheme
1 Breakfast Every Day
Healthy Cities Illawarra
Ground Floor, Victoria Square
Cnr Victoria & Belmore Sts
Wollongong NSW 2500
PO Box 1492
Wollongong DC NSW 2500
Phone:(02) 4226 5000
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.healthyillawarra.org.au
DISCLAIMER
This resource has been developed for general information and education purposes only. The
information contained in this reference manual is believed to be reliable, and whilst every effort has
been made to insure that the information is accurate at the time of writing, Healthy Cities Illawarra
cannot accept any liability, including for any loss or damage, resulting from reliance on the content.
Information on third party organisations, products, and services is provided however inclusion does
not imply an endorsement or recommendation by Healthy Cities Illawarra. The information provided
is intended as a general guide only and is not a substitute for independent professional advice.
Readers should obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances.
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE
7
Chapter One:
THE IMPORTANCE OF BREAKFAST FOR CHILDREN
8
Chapter Two:
IS A SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM THE ANSWER? 9
Chapter Three:
BEFORE YOU START – The needs assessment
10
Chapter Four:
PLANNING THE BREAKFAST PROGRAM – Whose responsibility?
11
Chapter Five
STAFFING THE BREAKFAST PROGRAM 12
Chapter Six
RECRUITING VOLUNTEERS FOR THE BREAKFAST PROGRAM
14
Chapter Seven
VOLUNTEERS – Legal issues
•
Insurance
•
Working with children checks •
Disclosure
16
16
17
Chapter Eight
WHERE & WHEN?
18
Chapter Nine
FUNDING – How much do you need?
20
Chapter Ten
FUNDING – Sources:
•
Sponsorship •
Donations
•
Fund raising •
Grants
21
22
22
23
24
3 Breakfast Every Day
16
Chapter Eleven:
FUNDING – How to apply
•
Making contact in the community
•
Applying for grants: administrative details
the need/issue
the solution: the project – its aims & objectives
the project the budget community networks
monitoring & evaluation
sustainability/exit strategy proof reading.
26
26
27
28
29
29
30
31
31
32
32
33
Chapter Twelve:
PROMOTING THE BREAKFAST CLUB –
•
To students •
To parents
•
To teaching staff
•
To potential sponsors 34
34
35
36
37
Chapter Thirteen:
WHAT TO SERVE? • Good nutrition
• Menu suggestions
• Encouraging children to eat well
• Recipes
• Equipment
41
45
46
58
Chapter Fourteen:
HEALTH & SAFETY AT BREAKFAST
• Personal hygiene
• Hand washing
• Kitchen hygiene
• Food safety
reheating food
eggs
food intolerance & allergy
• A safe environment
59
59
60
60
60
61
61
61
62
4
39
Chapter Fifteen:
ACTIVITIES AT BREAKFAST •
Theme days & celebrations
•
Dental health activities
•
Links to lessons
63
64
64
65
Chapter Sixteen:
BEHAVIOUR
66
Chapter Seventeen:
MONITORING & EVALUATION
68
NEED TO KNOW MORE?
69
REFERENCES & USEFUL CONTACTS
70
APPENDICES 78
Appendix 1: ‘Ten Great Reasons to Eat a Healthy Breakfast every Day’
79
Appendix 2: ‘Breakfast Every Day’
80
Appendix 3: Breakfast posters
82
Appendix 4: ‘Benefits of Breakfast Club’
84
Appendix 5: Need Survey
85
Appendix 6: Coordinator Duty Statement
86
Appendix 7: Checklist
88
Appendix 8: Volunteer Code of Conduct
89
Appendix 9: Prohibited Employment Declaration
90
Appendix 10 ‘Donation of Food and the Law’ Fact Sheet
92
Appendix 11: Sample Funding Letter – community support 93
Appendix 12: Sample Funding Application
94
Appendix 13: Parent Flyer
102
Appendix 14: Volunteer Newsletter Advert 103
Appendix 15: Sample Media Release
104
Appendix 16:’ Frequently Used Nutrition Claims’ fact sheet 105
Appendix 17: Lesson Plan
106
Appendix 18: Student Code of Conduct
109
Appendix 19: Sample Evaluation Report
110
5 Breakfast Every Day
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6
PREFACE
Breakfast Every Day…
fuel to learn and energy to excel
In an ideal world every one of us would have the
time, money, knowledge and energy to ensure
children eat breakfast every day, but especially
before going to school. Unfortunately in reality,
the number of children attending school without
eating breakfast is increasing, and fast becoming
a national health and social problem. Time
pressured lifestyles often mean a very early start
to the day for working families and breakfast
can be overlooked. Media and resulting peer
pressure to look a certain way is also increasing,
and when families face economic hardship it is
not unexpected that 1 in 4 children are attending
1,2
school without eating breakfast first Fortunately,
an increasing number of schools and community
centres have recognised the far reaching effects
of ‘skipping’ breakfast and offer before school
breakfast programs.
Healthy Cities Illawarra, and in recent times its
partner organisation Healthy People Illawarra,
have been involved in the development and
support of community breakfast programs in areas
of social and economic disadvantage for over
20 years. In late 2006, Healthy Cities Illawarra
secured funds from the NSW Government Area
Assistance Scheme to employ a Children’s
Nutrition Officer, Tracy Spark, to implement the
‘Food For Thought’ project. Tracy’s role was to
facilitate the sustainable development of regional
breakfast programs, and develop the focus of
the programs to enhance the nutritional status of
meals served.
Although the project has now come to a close
and Healthy Cities Illawarra is no longer able to
play a coordination role, we continue to support
community breakfast programs where possible
through the provision of information and a range
of practical resources. This resource is the end
result of ‘Food For Thought’. It seeks to provide
answers to questions asked throughout the life
of the project, addressing issues ranging from
the seemingly obvious ‘what to serve’, to the
complexities of grant seeking, and the intricacies
of engaging with potential supporters for
breakfast programs.
The intention of the resource is to bring together
relevant information from a wide range of
sources, and add them to the experience gained
in the implementation of the ‘Food for Thought’
project. The aim is not to replicate breakfast
program resources in existence, but to produce
a comprehensive, readily accessible, reference
manual specifically relevant to schools and
community centres operating in the Illawarra
region.
We congratulate Tracy on the production of
‘Breakfast Every Day… fuel to learn and energy
to excel’. This ‘everything you want to know,
and more’ about the establishment of breakfast
programs in this region is intended for use as a
reference manual that will not only help you get
started, it will help you keep going.
References:
1. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1997, National Nutrition Survey: Selected Highlights
2. University of Sydney, 2001, Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Study.
7 Breakfast Every Day
Cha p ter
1
The Importance of Breakfast for Children
Breakfast is universally recognised as
important to the health and wellbeing
of children for many reasons, with
strong links to the incidence
of chronic disease and the
promotion of healthy lifestyles.
Eating breakfast provides
essential nutrients for growth
and development, increases
metabolism, is beneficial to
learning and concentration,
and
establishes
lasting
healthy eating habits.
Children
who
eat
breakfast
consume more vitamins, minerals
and dietary fibre, and less cholesterol and
fat, than those who miss the morning meal.
Breakfast optimises a child’s nutritional intake,
and those who miss breakfast are often unable
to catch up on missed nutrients during the day.
Moreover, in response to hunger, they are more
likely to consume high fat, ‘fast’ snack foods later
in the day. Breakfast eaters consume more daily
calories, yet are less likely to be overweight.
so that teachers are often the first
to notice when a child in their
class has not had breakfast
(For more information
see Appendix 1, Ten
Great Reasons to Eat
a Healthy Breakfast
Every Day).
So why do children
go to school without
having had breakfast?
Parents often struggle
to get their child to eat
breakfast,
and
working
parents can lack the time to
ensure it is eaten before they leave
for work. Children being too sleepy or having no
appetite early in the morning, an early commute
to school, financial hardship, parental neglect,
and misguided ‘weight control’ efforts and peer
pressure, are some of the other reasons children
skip breakfast.
In addition to these more obvious effects on
health, research finds repeatedly that hungry
school children have higher levels of aggression
and hyperactivity, and reduced capacity to
concentrate and learn. Eating breakfast has
an immediate effect on improved alertness and
educational outcomes of children; so much
8
Cha p ter
2
Is a School Breakfast Program the
Answer?
Reminding students to eat breakfast at home is
sometimes all it takes to encourage children and
their parents to make eating breakfast a priority.
An example of a ‘reminder’ resource, Breakfast
Every Day (Appendix 2), was developed by
Healthy Cities Illawarra for parents of incoming
kindergarten children. Regular reminders at
school assemblies, in classroom based health
education, and in school newsletters may also be
enough to encourage children to have breakfast
before leaving home for school.
Healthy Cities Illawarra enlisted the support of
local champion surfers, Sally Fitzgibbons and
Dean Bowen, to produce two posters promoting
the message “Eat Breakfast Every Day…fuel to
learn and energy to excel” (Appendix 3). The
posters feature great surfing action and popular,
positive young role models. They were designed
to be attractive to children and young people
whilst providing a simple, strong health message.
In many cases however, reminders only go so
far, and reasons behind skipping breakfast are
harder to overcome. Most schools provide food
on an individual basis to those children who are
known to be missing meals. The establishment
of an organised school breakfast program may
be a preferable solution that can address a range
of behavioural and social issues. A breakfast
club provides an opportunity for students to eat
a healthy breakfast in a comfortable and safe
environment before starting the school day.
Breakfast programs do more than provide
children with the first meal of the day however
and, as a result, have a positive effect on students’
concentration and academic performance.
Breakfast programs have been shown to improve
pupil attendance and punctuality by ensuring
children get to school well before class starts. In
the longer term, they help children form the habit
of having breakfast every day.
Attendance at breakfast programs can lead to
better social skills and manners, and improved
interactions between students, often outside
class and usual peer groupings. Clubs also have
the potential to influence student self esteem and
motivation through the development of informal
relationships with adults they can trust. Indeed
schools often refer to their breakfast program as
a ‘club’ specifically to highlight the social factor.
Benefits of Breakfast (Appendix 4), is the result of
a brain storming session with Illawarra breakfast
program coordinators. The listed benefits are
based on their own experience, and may help
you determine whether a breakfast program is
the answer for your school. If it is the answer,
keep reading! The aim of this resource is to help
guide you through the why, where, when, who
and how of establishing a breakfast club at your
school, and, moreover, how to keep it going.
9 Breakfast Every Day
Cha p ter
3
Before You Start - The Needs Assessment
Somebody clearly feels there is a need to
establish a breakfast program at your school – or
chances are you wouldn’t be reading this. Most
often that person is a member of the teaching
staff. Before you plan any further however,
to increase your program’s chances of being
effective and sustainable, a thorough needs
assessment is recommended. In this age of
increasing accountability and evidence-based
activities, many prospective funding bodies and
potential sponsors consider conduct of a needs
assessment essential.
Findings of a needs assessment establish a
clearly defined need, and guide the development
of the breakfast program model. It can determine
the extent of the need, the reason for that need,
and gauge the level of support for a breakfast
program from key parties, namely teaching staff,
students and parents. Results also serve as a
baseline of information from which progress
and effectiveness of the breakfast program
can be gauged, again an often required term
or condition of funding for many organisations.
Consultation also increases the chance of the
club being supported enthusiastically, and can
create a valuable sense of ownership by the
children who use it.
It is important that parents are informed and
understand the reasons establishment of a
breakfast program is being considered at their
child’s school. Consultation with parents and
the feedback provided can give an indication of
potential student attendance which will assist
with planning the breakfast program in its initial
stages, so you may also wish to survey parents. A
sample questionnaire is included in this resource
(Appendix 5).
Gaining the support of the school community
for the breakfast program appears an obvious
step in the planning process. Unfortunately, it is
often ignored or ‘glossed over’ to the detriment
of the program. The commitment to a breakfast
program by school management, teaching staff,
and the families of students is often directly
connected to the sustainability of the program.
In reality, those programs without the support of
the school community often just fizzle out due
to lack of resources and lack of interest. Work
on building strong commitment by, in the first
instance, communicating the findings of the
needs assessment.
Conduct of a needs assessment need not be as
formal as it sounds. It may be as simple and
straightforward as chatting with teachers at a staff
meeting, parents at the next P&C meeting, and
students in class groups or at school assembly.
Most often, breakfast clubs use a combination of
strategies to establish the level of need, interest
and support from key parties.
10
Cha p ter
4
Planning the Breakfast Program
Once you have identified ‘why’ your school will
benefit from a breakfast program, you will need
to establish the ‘how’. It is very important to
feel your way in the early stages – don’t be too
ambitious. Start simply, in terms of both menu
and club opening frequency, and gradually offer
more variety and open more often as the club
becomes more established.
Consider talking to the coordinator of an
established children’s breakfast program to get
the benefit of their experience. Even better,
organise a time to visit the breakfast program
in operation. Visit Healthy People Illawarra’s
website on www.healthyillawarra.org.au for the
details of an established program nearest you.
It is important to identify who is responsible for
day to day running of the breakfast program
early on. Most breakfast programs have a
designated coordinator, be they a member of the
teaching or support staff, a parent, community
volunteer (eg. a member of the local church),
or canteen supervisor. Schools may consider
paid employment of a part-time coordinator to
be specifically responsible for the operation of
the club. An example of a breakfast program
coordinator duty statement is included in this
resource (Appendix 6).
- Whose responsibility?
other requirements of managing a breakfast
program. Community partnerships are a model
of breakfast program delivery that works very
well in this region.
Overall management of the program, including
funding issues, may rest with the coordinator,
but it is also often the case that responsibility lies
elsewhere - with the school P&C Association, a
member of the school executive, an interested
teacher or teaching assistant, student welfare
officer, community organisation ‘partner’, or even
a small steering committee with several members
including a student. Again, the important thing is
to establish this early in the planning process.
Once breakfast program ‘management’ is
identified, then it is time to consider the who,
what, when, and where of the breakfast club. A
useful checklist providing an overall outline of
essential and desirable features of successful
breakfast programs, is included in this resource
(Appendix 7). Now is the time to also give some
thought to how you might monitor the success of
the program; how you will know it is meeting its
original objectives.
Think about other organisations working
in your local community that have shared
objectives of improving health and educational
outcomes for local children. Perhaps they
would consider a partnership arrangement for
running a breakfast program? Establish, as
partners, each organisation’s responsibilities
in terms of supplies, volunteers, venue and
11 Breakfast Every Day
Cha p ter
5
Staffing the Breakfast Program
The breakfast program that relies solely on one
person to run it is generally less likely to be
sustainable than the program that has a team of
people to call on. One person can’t be expected
to do everything, and occasional absence from
breakfast club can often be unavoidable.
Once the coordinator and management roles are
established it is time to consider who will help
the coordinator run the breakfast program each
morning. At least two, preferably three, people
are needed to run the club safely and efficiently
each day; one or two to prepare and serve, and
one to keep an eye on the children to ensure
good behaviour. It is important to maintain a
manageable adult: child ratio.
The majority of breakfast programs rely on a team
of volunteers, usually parents or grandparents of
students at the school. Parental involvement is
often desirable as it helps promote a sense of
openness and an understanding of the purpose
of the breakfast club, and can provide an
informal social network for the participant. It also
discourages the use of the breakfast club as a
child minding facility.
Clearly school parents form a large pool
of potential volunteers from which to draw.
Sometimes however the initial establishment of
the breakfast club was in response to parental
commitments in the mornings, therefore the
parent body may not be a viable and sustainable
source of volunteers. Instead, consider your
local community and think who also may be a
source of appropriate volunteers for your club.
For example:
• church groups
• charitable organisations such as the
Salvation Army or St Vincent de Paul’s
Society
• senior citizens’ groups such as Probus or
the Older Women’s Network
• community service clubs such as Rotary
and Apex Clubs
• hospitality or cookery students at the local
TAFE or nearby high school
• university students studying nutrition or
education
• local business organisations with an
interest in corporate volunteering such as
the National Australia, Westpac and ANZ
Banks, and the NRMA
• CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse)
community support groups whose members
may know families at the school, for example
the Greek Welfare Centre or Illawarra
Turkish Association (search your local
Council’s Community Information Directory
for community groups representing your
school population, eg. www.wollongong.
nsw.gov.au/library/onlineresources/pages/
communitydirectory.aspx ).
A new website, www.youthvolunteering.com.au,
has been launched specifically aimed at young
people wishing to volunteer, and schools wanting
to set up student volunteer programs. The site is
a good starting point for engaging young people,
valuable role models, in your breakfast program.
For existing programs, ask volunteers to spread
the word among their own networks. Encourage
them to promote the benefits of your breakfast
program – why there is a need at your school
12
Staffing the Breakfast Program
and how valued they feel to be doing something
about it.
Whilst out there scouting for prospective
volunteers don’t forget to promote the known
value of volunteering to one’s health. Focus on
the benefits of volunteering as well as the needs
of the breakfast program – volunteers have
been shown to be happier with life than people
who don’t volunteer in any capacity. Volunteers
experience reduced incidence of heart disease,
higher functional ability, lower rates of depression,
1
and, on top of all that, they live longer!
If an individual is interested in volunteering whilst
they are actively seeking employment, work out
ways in which volunteering at the breakfast club
may help them secure future employment such
as hands on experience in food preparation
or working with children. The provision of a
reference for potential employers is always
valued by those seeking paid work.
Think about community groups in your area
with a solid volunteering base such as YWCA,
Lifeline, or Meals on Wheels and promote the
volunteering opportunities at your breakfast club
to them. Ensure you make it clear you are not
trying to poach volunteers, just appealing to
individuals who may wish to spend an extra hour
or two one morning a week helping out with local
school children. Many older people especially,
love the opportunity to engage with children they
may not interact with otherwise, and children
love developing a trusting relationship with an
older ‘grandparent’ figure commonly missing in
today’s often fragmented family arrangements.
Incidentally,
husband
and
wife
retiree
‘partnerships’ are known to make very reliable,
sustainable volunteers so when contacting a
potential volunteer ask if they have a friend or
partner who may wish to help out also.
Sharing responsibility with senior students at the
school or members of the Student Representative
Council is another option for staffing your
breakfast club. Older children can be allocated
specific tasks such as serving food, setting out
the room, washing the dishes and cleaning up (if
time before class allows); or acting as mentors to
the younger children.
Registering
with
local
volunteering
agency,
Volunteering
Illawarra
(VI),
www.volunteeringillawarra.org.au,
is
also
recommended. VI operates a regional volunteer
resource centre across the Wollongong,
Shellharbour and Kiama Local Government
Areas. They provide a recruitment and referral
service for volunteers, and assist non-profit
organisations in need of volunteers with referrals,
education, information, and resources.
Unfortunately due to insurance issues,
volunteering in schools does not fulfill the
‘mutual obligation’ requirements of Centrelink
clients. However, if your breakfast program is
run out of a community centre, or your program
has the support of other community or charity
groups, volunteers may be able to put their
breakfast program volunteering hours towards
their mutual obligation requirement by formally
volunteering through the community centre or
charity. For example, if the St Vincent De Paul
Society supports and coordinates a school
breakfast program, individuals may volunteer
under the auspice of the Society rather than the
school itself.
References:
1. Corporation for National and Community Service, Office of Research and Policy Development, Washington DC, 2007, The
Health Benefits of Volunteering: A Review of Recent Research, cited in Judy Esmond, 2005. Count On Me! 501 Ideas on
Retaining, Recognising and Rewarding Volunteers, WA.
13 Breakfast Every Day
Cha p ter
6
Recruiting Volunteers for the Breakfast
Program
Volunteers are in high demand and competition
for their efforts is fierce so it is important the
breakfast program is promoted as not only a very
worthwhile use of their time, but as a pleasant,
safe, well-managed and friendly environment –
somewhere an individual not only feels useful,
but enjoys themselves.
First impressions count so do the ground work
if you can. Provide a range of volunteer roles
with short job descriptions and estimates of time
required so volunteers have a clear idea of what
they are ‘signing up’ for. Ensure you include
contact details to make it easier for people to
find out more information. Some individuals may
find the early start difficult but are more than
happy to assist with the grocery shopping, food
preparation at home such as baking healthy
muffins, or fund raising. Provide a variety of
volunteer opportunities, including ‘drop in when
you can and lend a hand’ roles, and share the
load.
If an individual is unable to volunteer now it may
not mean ’never’, so keep contact with potential
volunteers and if their circumstances change
they may reconsider the breakfast program.
Be persistent when it comes to promoting
volunteering at the breakfast program. For
example, don’t stop running the ad in the school
newsletter because you don’t get a response
after a couple of weeks – advertise regularly
throughout the school year to catch those
individuals whose circumstances change.
Recruiting and keeping volunteers is very much
about building good relationships. Ensure new
volunteers are welcomed and receive a sound
induction to the breakfast program; make time
for them and make their first contact a positive
experience. Remember not to overwhelm them
with information or duties in that first encounter –
you really want them to come back!
Introduce them by name to other volunteers,
relevant members of the teaching staff, and to
the children at the breakfast program. Provide
volunteers with a name tag so children can
address them by name and start to get to know
them immediately. The sooner volunteers are
made to feel a valued, worthwhile member of
the team the longer they are likely to remain a
reliable, motivated addition to the breakfast club.
Draw up rosters well in advance so plans can be
made around those commitments, and alternative
arrangements can be made if necessary. Be
as flexible and responsive as possible to your
volunteer’s needs so that they are in turn more
likely to be flexible when you need them to cover
for you or another volunteer’s shift.
Ensure volunteers feel confident in the task they
are undertaking by attending food handling and
occupational health and safety training. Your
school may already have established a Code
of Conduct for volunteers, but if not, consider
developing a formal code specifically for the
breakfast club. An example of a Code of Conduct
is included in this resource(Appendix 8). Whether
you use this example as a template, or draft one
from scratch, please ensure the Code of Conduct
is supported by the School Executive.
14
Recruiting Volunteers for the Breakfast Program
Let volunteers know they are appreciated by
regularly catching up over a cup of tea when
breakfast is all cleaned up; asking for input to
the running of the program creates a positive
sense of ownership for all concerned. Celebrate
International Volunteer Day on the 5th December
each year, or Volunteer Week held in May every
year, and reward volunteers for their commitment
with a personalised thank you note or special
acknowledgement in the school newsletter. Hold
a special morning tea at the school and ask
children who attend the breakfast program, or the
school principal, to say a few words thanking the
volunteers for their hard work.
On that basis, time and energy invested in the
maintenance of good relationships with your
volunteers is certainly sound practice.
For further information on all aspects of
recruiting, managing and retaining volunteers,
the NSW Guide to Volunteering: A Guide to
Managing Volunteers in Non-Profit Organisations
is a very useful and comprehensive, on-line
resource produced by the NSW Centre for
Volunteering. It is available free of charge at
www.volunteering.nsw.gov.au
If a volunteer leaves the breakfast program,
again acknowledge their hard work and let them
know they will be missed. You never know,
their circumstances might change and they may
wish to return. Also, other current and potential
volunteers will be observing the way the departing
volunteer is treated and such treatment may
reflect on their own sense of value at the club.
Most importantly, don’t wait for a special
occasion to say ‘thank you’. Individuals usually
volunteer at breakfast programs because they
want to be there. Feeling valued and appreciated
is intrinsically linked to that sense of wanting to
help out, so remember to say, and encourage the
children to say, ‘thanks’ often.
It is said that it takes five times the effort to attract
and recruit a new volunteer as compared with
the effort needed to retain current volunteers.
15 Breakfast Every Day
Cha p ter
7
Volunteers - Legal Issues
Insurance:
Working with Children:
Despite the safest practices and best risk
management procedures, like anywhere,
accidents can happen at breakfast club. It is
important volunteers are protected by relevant
insurance cover in the performance of their
duties. The two main insurance policies that
need to be considered are Public Liability, to
insure specifically against harm caused by
an organisation’s negligence, and Personal
Accident (Volunteers), insurance against harm
irrespective of the nature of the accident or who
was at fault.
The level of security clearance required to
volunteer to work at a children’s breakfast
program, in either a school or community setting,
can be confusing. It is recommended breakfast
program coordinators seek clarification from the
school principal or director of the community
centre who ‘employ’ the volunteers as to their
policy and procedures in this regard. It is their
responsibility (or their nominees) to determine
specific circumstances within the definition of the
law, and ensure that volunteers are appropriately
screened.
Always ensure the School Principal or Director of
the Community Centre is aware of the relevant
circumstances of breakfast program volunteers
and required duties.
Individual insurance
policies need to be reviewed carefully to check
terms and conditions meet each volunteer’s
specific circumstances. Some Personal
Accident Insurance polices, for example, have
age limitations and do not cover volunteers
under or over a certain age. Volunteers placed
in this situation may wish to consider taking out
their own personal accident cover.
In general terms however, the definition of ‘childrelated employment’ and degree of supervision
is the key. The Commission for Children and
Young People Act 1998 states that child-related
employment is that which primarily involves
direct contact with children where that contact is
not directly supervised.
Further information regarding volunteers and
insurance issues can be found on the NCOSS
(The Council of Social Service of NSW) website
at www.ncoss.org.au/insurance, or on the ‘Our
Community’ website at www.ourcommunity.com.
au/insurance.
The Working with Children check for volunteers
comprises two parts; a Prohibited Employment
Declaration, and a background screening
process which applies to specific categories of
child-related employment such as, for example,
provision of intimate care to children with
disabilities. In Australia all individuals in childrelated employment, both in a paid and unpaid
(voluntary) capacity, are required by law to
declare that they are not a ‘prohibited person’
(any person convicted of a serious sex offence
or child-related personal violence offence, or
registered under the Child Protection (Offenders
Registration) Act 2000).
16
Volunteers - Legal Issues
The Working with Children check applies only
to positions which come within this definition;
essentially work that primarily involves direct
contact with children where that contact is not
directly overseen by a supervisor. On this basis
screening of volunteers working in children’s
breakfast programs would not be required where
there is supervision by a member of school or
community centre staff, or an individual with
authority to directly supervise, such as the
breakfast program coordinator.
Often, however, the breakfast program
coordinator is a volunteer themselves who is
not directly supervised by a member of staff, or
supervision is limited. In this case, based on
the definition of ‘child-related employment’, the
school principal or community centre director
will require them to complete a Prohibited
Employment Volunteer Declaration declaring
they are not prohibited from working with children.
An alternative to completion of the declaration
would be to increase the level of supervision so
that screening is not required.
Disclosure
Breakfast programs are comfortable and safe
environments for children. As a result, children
often develop a sense of trust with the adult
helpers at the program. They may be regarded
as trusted friends or relatives by vulnerable
children, particularly when they have limited
‘non-official’, positive, adult role models in
their lives. On occasion children may disclose
certain information about their lives outside the
breakfast program that is upsetting, for them and
for volunteers. Most schools and community
services have developed disclosure policies
outlining moral and legal requirements to protect
children from abuse and neglect, and it is
important that any concerns of significant harm
are reported to the school principal or counselor,
or community service management.
A copy of the Prohibited Employment Declaration
is provided for your information (Appendix 9)
however it is recommended the declaration be
accessed and completed on-line on the NSW
Commission for Children and Young People
website, https://check.kids.nsw.gov.au/. The form
is then printed and retained by the organisation
engaging the volunteer’s services.
For further information see the NSW Commission
for Children and Young People’s website listed
above, or the Working with Children policies on
the NSW Department of Education’s website at
www.det.nsw.edu.au .
17 Breakfast Every Day
Cha p ter
8
Where and When?
Where?
Specific issues to consider when choosing a
venue for the breakfast program:
Most breakfast programs in the Illawarra and
Shoalhaven are held on school grounds, with
a number of long running and successful
programs run by community or neighbourhood
centres located very close to schools. If you are
considering establishing a program off school
grounds it is essential that issues of safety and
travel to school are addressed, particularly if
roads need to be crossed. Organisation of a
‘walking bus’ to school at a set time, for example,
will ensure children arrive at school safely and
on time. A school parent who is walking children
to school at that time may be willing to volunteer
to be the ‘bus driver’, and walk the ‘breakfast’
children with him/her.
For most programs however, the venue for a
children’s breakfast program will be within school
grounds. Where the breakfast program is held will
be determined, with the agreement of the school
principal of course, by the number of children
expected to attend, availability of space before
school starts, and available food preparation
and storage facilities. In the Illawarra, school
breakfast programs are held in classrooms
(often, but not always, vacant), after school care
rooms, a corner of the hall, under-cover outside
shelters, auxiliary and multi-purpose rooms,
home economics classrooms, out of the school
canteen, or in a partitioned corner of the library.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
can the venue accommodate the number
of children expected, preferably seated at
tables?
is running water available for hand washing/
drinking/food preparation?
is hot water available?
is access to electricity outlets for essential
equipment such as fridge and toasters
adequate?
are kitchen facilities such as sinks
accessible?
are storage facilities such as cupboards, or
space for cupboards, available?
are toilets accessible?
is there room for other activities such as
reading or homework completion?
A designated room for permanent breakfast
program use is always preferable but not always
possible. A permanent venue can be decorated,
ideally with the children’s involvement, to make
it a pleasant, welcoming and comfortable place.
Drawings and posters are an obvious start, but
consider developing the theme further and give
the breakfast club a café feel with decorator
touches such as a table cloth, bowls of fruit, or
flowers on the table. If the venue is a corner of
a larger room, partition off the breakfast club to
make it more inviting. Highlight breakfast club as
a special, social place separate from the school
itself.
18
Where and When?
If a permanent venue is not available, ensure
all equipment and supplies can be packed up
and stored easily, securely and hygienically.
In this case, convenience and easy access to
equipment is an essential consideration in the
morning rush. Consider nominating responsible,
senior children to act as equipment monitors
(ensuring that potentially dangerous equipment
such as sharp knives are stored in a safe
manner, for example in their own scabbards or
sealed container) to assist at this very busy time.
When?
A survey conducted in the region in 2009 found
most programs offered breakfast to school
children 5 days a week, each school term,
however frequency is often dictated by available
resources and volunteers. Running a breakfast
program even once a week is preferable to not
at all if a need has been identified. A child’s
attendance provides an opportunity to reiterate
the ‘importance of breakfast’ message as they
go off to class more able to concentrate, and in
a better mood, and serves to regularly remind
children to eat breakfast before school every day.
Most Illawarra breakfast programs run half an
hour to an hour, depending on individual school
requirements. Children’s breakfast programs
held off school grounds tend to set aside more
time than those held at the school itself. In
general, all NSW schools are ‘in session’ from
9.00am to 3.00pm Monday to Friday. Class
times can vary from school to school, however,
depending on local requirements; many high
schools, for example, start earlier and finish
later. As a rule, students are not permitted to
be on school premises until thirty minutes before
the designated school starting time.
In this region, most school based breakfast
programs run within those operating restrictions,
for example 8.30am – 9.00am, or 8.15am –
8.45am. Schools often have strict rules against
eating in class or outside in class lines, so many
breakfast programs try to finish ten minutes or
so before class starting time. To ensure children
have finished eating in time for class, make it
clear no children will be allowed in ten minutes
before the breakfast program is due to finish. In practice however, sometimes discretion
needs to be used on an individual basis to
avoid turning away genuinely hungry children.
Teachers are usually very understanding in such
circumstances.
Thirty minutes isn’t long to feed 20 or 30
children, so operating efficiency, planning and
organisation is essential. Your team will need
to run like a well oiled machine in the mad rush.
If your program offers other activities such as
reading or homework support at the breakfast
program, you will in all likelihood need longer than
30 minutes. Many schools are gated and locked
so issues of access, safety, and permission to
be on school grounds earlier than the standard
thirty minutes before class starts, will need to
be addressed. In addition, some schools have
road crossing supervisors from thirty minutes
before class starts. An earlier starting breakfast
program may require consideration of an earlier
start for supervised road crossing.
19 Breakfast Every Day
Cha p ter
9
Funding - How Much do you Need?
Securing funding is, for most breakfast programs
in this region, an ongoing issue. Many breakfast
programs in other countries actually implement a
nominal charge for each child, greatly assisting
the program to be sustainable. Illawarra breakfast
programs however, when surveyed, reported
that such a ‘user pays’ model would not work
here – they felt that charging would discourage
children, particularly the most disadvantaged,
from attending.
Nevertheless, charging at
a subsidised rate could be a consideration
depending on local circumstances and the
nature of the breakfast program, for example
early opening of the school canteen.
In all likelihood however, you will need to seek
financial support from outside the school for the
breakfast program. There is fierce competition
for the community charity dollar from other
worthwhile causes, whilst business, government
and other community organisations tighten their
purse strings in an increasingly unpredictable
economic climate. To increase your chances
of funding success for your breakfast program
it is wise to do your homework. Firstly, how
much money do you need? Potential sponsors
or donors will be more likely to consider your
proposal if they know from the beginning what
they will be ‘up for’. An estimate of how many
children, how much per head, and how often the
program will run, is a start. For new programs
this could be a bit tricky but if you’ve conducted a
needs assessment as previously recommended
in Chapter 3, Before You Start, you should be
able to provide a sound estimate of the number
of children you expect to attend.
The cost of providing breakfast per child can be
itemised, for example 2 pieces of bread, 250ml
of milk, 1 piece of fruit, 1 serving of baked beans,
based on proportional cost of the goods at current
retail prices. Many potential sponsors appreciate
this level of calculation. Alternatively, it may be
simpler to use an estimate of, for example, $1
- $2 per child depending on any other sources
of support available to the program, and the
‘complexity’ of the menu to be offered.
Other operational costs to consider are one-off,
start up expenses such as the cost of a fridge,
toaster, cutlery and crockery, storage facilities
such as free standing cupboards or large plastic
containers, even games and books/magazines if
they are to be a part of your breakfast program.
You may wish to include a small wage for a
breakfast program coordinator, a volunteer
training allowance, promotional costs such as
paper, and funds for special occasion breakfast
days. Remember to resist the urge to inflate the
budget if there is a large funding pool, and only
include costs you can justify.
Tallied up, the amount needed may appear rather
intimidating for smaller business/community
organisations to consider within their means.
Don’t rely on them assuming you will take less,
they may automatically discount your proposal.
Once the amount of funding required to operate
the breakfast program is established, calculate
how much is required to run the program on a
weekly/monthly/term/annual basis, and itemise
other large capital costs such as a fridge. Then
provide these individual estimates to potential
funding organisations enabling them to donate/
sponsor within their means. Put the effort in to
presenting a justifiable, clear and concise budget
- professionalism will beat ‘guestimate’ every
time when it comes to the investment of money.
20
Cha p ter
10
Funding - Sources
Once you have an idea of how much support you
need, what then? The development of a written
funding plan, which includes your cost estimate,
may be of assistance here. The plan can help
organise your approach to seeking funding by
clarifying what support you may already have
secured, identifying potential partnerships in
the community, sources of grant funds, and,
importantly, will clarify who is responsible for
preparing funding applications and making
contact with potential donors. It can also help
to think about a contingency plan should you
not be successful seeking support outside the
school, for example is there capacity for the
P&C Association or teaching staff to support the
breakfast program in some way?
More homework is required at this stage – the shot
gun approach may reap opportunistic benefits,
but it can also waste time. Instead, research
your ‘targets’ to find ones that link in with your
community, the need you have identified, and the
benefits of the good nutrition message. Try to
match their aims with the needs of the breakfast
program. Think about which businesses or
individuals to approach for donations to the
breakfast program (donations are usually one-off
payments or goods/services in kind); businesses
and other organisations within your community
who may be open to longer term sponsorship
opportunities, and which organisations offer
funding grants (remembering funds are rarely ongoing, and most tend to be time limited, eg. on an
annual basis).
Ask teaching staff, student families, and
breakfast program volunteers for suggestions
and links to local business. If they have personal
connections, ask them to approach the potential
donor/sponsor initially themselves, or ask them
if you could mention their name when you make
contact yourself. Think about your own personal
connections.
Some communities publish
regional business directories in print or on-line,
for example www.localbusinessguide.com.au,
which can assist with identification of relevant
business and community organisations in your
local area.
Consider contacting your local member to ask
if they know of upcoming funding opportunities
for the much needed breakfast program you
are planning on establishing in their electorate.
Ask for a letter of support to include in funding
applications.
Community organisations and business chains
tend to be swamped with requests for funds to
support worthwhile projects in their community,
and many now have a formal applications
process as a result, www.clubsnsw.com.au,
for example. You will not be able to bypass
established channels, however making personal
contact before applying is often a good idea. Ask
if you can meet the manager of the business’s
local branch or your local club to discuss your
breakfast program and its benefits. Highlight the
local community need you have identified, and
their thoughts on whether they think it is a project
their organisation would consider funding. If not,
ask for advice on how you could improve your
proposal to enable it to be viewed more favourably.
21 Breakfast Every Day
Demonstrate your enthusiasm for your breakfast
program. Developing a relationship will help your
proposal to stand out from the many others they
will receive. Mention in your funding submission
that you have discussed the breakfast program
with the manager of the local branch or club,
using their name, and how they supported the
idea.
Sponsorship
Many successful breakfast programs in the
Illawarra and Shoalhaven are the product of
strong sponsorship, generally with community
not-for-profit groups. Usually, such sponsorship
comes about as a result of the shared aims of
wanting to improve the health and educational
outcomes of local children, and of promoting
same. There are numerous benefits to seeking
support of this nature for your breakfast program,
particularly as funding bodies tend to look very
favourably on community partnerships, regarding
such collaboration an effective use of resources,
and a key to sustainability.
On occasion, local business will enter into a
sponsorship relationship in return for agreed
marketing benefits such as the promotion of
their business and its much valued support of
the breakfast program, in the school newsletter;
advertising their service/products but also
generating goodwill and a sense of community
responsibility and belonging. It is therefore
very worthwhile to think not only of community
organisations with a strong profile in your
community, but also of business which may
be interested in sponsorship of the breakfast
program as a ‘business decision’. Think about
what you can offer them in terms of endorsement
of their goods and/or services, and their promotion
in a competitive local market – then sell this as
a valuable marketing opportunity. Approach
sponsorship in commercial terms as much as a
charitable arrangement eg. if you provide this,
we will provide that. Provide potential sponsors
with measurable benefit. Chapter 12, Promoting
the Breakfast Club, provides more information
on marketing and promoting breakfast programs.
Importantly, once you have secured sponsorship,
make an effort to keep them engaged with
certificates of appreciation, photographs, thank
you cards and drawings from the children,
copies of school newsletters where they are
acknowledged, even phone calls and personal
visits demonstrating your and the children’s
appreciation. Many breakfast programs in the
region invite sponsors to special breakfasts, often
at the end of the school year, offering a glimpse
of the club in action, and providing an opportunity
to meet volunteers and children. Sponsors like
to know their involvement is valued, and making
a difference in their community.
Donations
Businesses which are not in a position to make
long term financial commitment may consider
making a donation to the breakfast program.
Think about the businesses in your local area
and what they could provide. Business may be
able to make a one-off financial donation, but
it is more likely they would consider donations
of goods and foodstuffs. Make a list of the
equipment you need for the breakfast program
and which organisations supply them. Electrical
stores may be able to assist with toasters or
even the fridge (you won’t know if you don’t
ask!), and larger stores often have community
assistance schemes of some description. If they
can’t make out-right donations, ask them if they
could subsidise the costs of items you require.
List the businesses in your local community
who supply the foods you need for your
breakfast program. Consider, particularly, those
businesses selling produce with a short ‘use by
date’, such as bakeries, green grocers, dairy
suppliers, cafes, and corner shops. Again if
they are not in a position to donate, they may
consider solid discounts. How you promote your
breakfast program and its potential impact on
the lives of local school children, will be crucial
to the degree of support you can secure in the
community. Chapter 12, Promoting the Breakfast
Club, provides ideas and arguments to use to
22
help convince potential donors/sponsors of the
benefits of their involvement in your children’s
breakfast program.
Food suppliers may tell you that the law
prevents them from donating food, particularly
prepared dishes of food, due to the risk of food
poisoning and legal liability. That law has now
been amended to allow food outlets to donate
for charitable purpose if that food is safe for
consumption, even where it is unsuitable for
sale. The fact sheet, ‘Donation of Food and the
Law’, may be useful to show businesses if this is
raised as an issue (Appendix 10).
A growing number of food manufacturers and
large supermarket chains donate their excess
produce to FoodBank NSW for distribution to
registered charities that provide food and welfare
services. They are based at Wetherill Park, in
Sydney’s west, but deliver non-perishable items
free to the Illawarra on a regular basis. There
is a small service fee, eg. $1 per kilo for cans
of mixed fruit, and availability of items changes
every month.
Unfortunately, schools are not registered charities
and are therefore ineligible for membership. A
way around this would be to develop a partnership
with a charitable organisation in your community,
or a neighbourhood centre with charitable status,
and join FoodBank NSW under their auspice.
Another barrier to its use for breakfast programs
is the size of a minimum order; 25 cartons (1
pallet) for delivery to country regions, including
the Illawarra. To make it worthwhile, consider
other schools, charities, and community
organisations providing food and welfare services
in your area, and propose the establishment of a
‘food program’ partnership or consortium. It will
mean a bit of work and organisation but the idea
has potential and can provide the opportunity
to stock up on non-perishables such as baked
beans or toast spreads. To find out more see
www.foodbanknsw.org.au .
Fund Raising
Breakfast programs are often supplemented
by school fund raising activities, and the list of
possible activities is endless. Speak to school
management and your P&C representatives
about your ideas. It is often the case that schools
already run numerous fund raising activities,
so ask if they would consider working together
with breakfast program management, if they
are different, and share the proceeds of fund
raising efforts with the breakfast program. It may
seem obvious but it is surprising the number of
breakfast programs that function under the radar
of general school community activities.
Canned food donation ‘mufti’ days, raffles for
donated prizes, breakfast club poster/naming
competitions, winter soup days, smoothie/
milkshake drives, and serving ‘special occasion’
or themed breakfasts for a gold coin donation, are
all strategies that have worked in the Illawarra.
There seems to be as many websites aimed at
school fund raising activities, as there are activities
but they are often worth browsing for ideas.
Some examples are: www.australianfundraising.
com.au, www.fundraisingideas.com.au, and
www.fundraisingdirectory.com.au . Unfortunately
many fund raisers tend not to be very healthy, and
can send mixed messages if its aim is to support
nutritious breakfast programs. Searching ‘fund
raising’ on the websites www.parentsjury.org.au
and www.det.act.gov.au will lead you to a wealth
of healthy fund raising activities such as apple
twirly stands at recess, sporting activities, and
gold coin donations for school concerts.
23 Breakfast Every Day
Grants
The website www.communitybuilders.nsw.gov.au
is a very useful and comprehensive site providing
assistance with all aspects of establishing and
managing community projects. It is a great
starting point for locating federal, state and
local government funding programs, as well as
institutions, philanthropic trusts, businesses and
corporations with established grant schemes.
The site allows you to search for funds by the
nature of your project, for example ‘health and
mental health’, or ‘young people’, by closing
date, and by specific funding organisation.
Increasingly, large corporations offer funding
opportunities as part of their corporate
responsibility to the community within which they
operate. Think about corporations operating
locally and use your computer’s search engine
to find their website. Once at a specific site,
search for community participation.
Often
grants are only offered once a year so try to plan
ahead. The IMB, for example, runs a very active
community grants program in this region through
their Community Foundation, www.imb.com.
au. Applications open in October and close in
December each year, for processing by March
the following year.
Another major source of funding for community
projects in Australia are Foundations. Again, a
listing of Australian Foundations can be found
at the Community Builders website listed above.
Foundations offer funding for not-for-profitorganisations who are tax exempt and have had
deductible gift recipient (DGR) status granted
by the ATO. Generally speaking, schools are
not entitled to receive tax deductible gifts, but if
your breakfast program is run as a partnership
or sponsored by another organisation with DGR
status, eg.The Salvation Army or St Vincent De
Paul’s Society, you may be able to apply for
foundation funds under their auspice. If you’re
not sure of their taxation status you can find out
on the ATO website, www.ato.gov.au, and search
by the organisation’s post code.
Increasingly, funding bodies provide application
guidelines to ensure the information they require
to make their decision is provided. Individuals
are rarely eligible to apply for community funds
and evidence of incorporation, relevant insurance
coverage, and current Australian Business
Numbers (ABN) are routine basic requirements.
Eligibility of schools to apply varies between
funding programs, and it will be stated in the
guidelines which organisations are eligible –
often a distinction is made between government
and independent schools, and you will need to
check this. If schools are not eligible in their own
right, again community partnerships come to the
rescue with the possibility of a joint submission
under their auspice.
If schools are ineligible to apply outright (as
state government core budget items), check
in the guidelines to see if the school P&C
Association is eligible to apply. Clubs NSW, for
example, will consider funding school based
activities “..when a P&C may be running an extra
curricular service or activity, above their core
business responsibilities, that helps low income,
disabled or otherwise disadvantaged students,
or contributes to their welfare..”. Clearly, a
children’s breakfast program would meet this
criterion.
24
It is certainly wise to ensure the breakfast
program meets the criteria set by the funding
body. However, don’t automatically discount
grant schemes because they do not appear to
directly relate to the establishment of a breakfast
program; eg. if health or nutrition are not project
criteria. Think creatively about the breakfast
program, and how you could develop it to meet a
broader range of aims. You could, for example,
link the breakfast program to a school vegetable
garden or small chicken coop thereby broadening
the program’s scope to include food preparation,
agricultural knowledge, and environmental
issues, greatly increasing the potential number
of grant schemes you can access.
If your breakfast program is already established
yet the grant scheme is seeking new initiatives to
fund, consider a new aspect you could introduce
to your program. For instance, children should
brush their teeth after eating, so you could
introduce an oral hygiene and grooming aspect
to the program and seek funding for your new
‘Brekky and Brushing Club’. Similarly, if the
school population is culturally diverse, focus on
the multicultural aspect and introduce regular,
themed breakfasts from other countries. You
can then seek funding for the new ‘Multicultural
Morning Munchies’ program that fosters interest,
tolerance, understanding and respect for other
cultures. See Chapter 15, Activities at Breakfast,
for other ideas to further develop the ‘new’
breakfast program.
25 Breakfast Every Day
Cha p ter
11
Funding - How to Apply?
Making contact in the community
How you apply for financial or in-kind support
for your breakfast program will depend on the
organisation approached, and the type of support
you are seeking. Generally speaking, for support
from business within your own community, the
personal approach is best; people like giving
to people. However, ‘cold calling’ (dropping in
to see them unannounced), or even phoning
unexpectedly, doesn’t allow for considered
appreciation of your proposal, making a longerterm commitment less likely.
Initial contact in the form of a written letter will
present your request in a way more likely to get
serious consideration. A letter will allow you to
provide some background, and importantly, give
you a starting point when you do call or visit; “My
name is …, I wrote to you two weeks ago about
our school breakfast program, and I wonder if
we could make a time for us to meet to have a
chat about it in greater detail?” A sample letter is
included in this resource (Appendix 11).
A letter allows you to introduce yourself and your
school community, and briefly outline the findings
of the needs assessment you conducted. If you
have been referred to the organisation, name
them (with their permission) and explain why
you were referred; for example “Joe Bloggs,
a loyal customer of Breads R Us, knew of
your commitment to your local community and
suggested I contact you with our request”.
Give them an idea of what you can offer them
in return for their support such as promoting
their business, and its support of the breakfast
program, to the school community.
The personal approach is best, so ensure your
letter is addressed to a specific individual, and
spelt correctly. Never address it to ‘whom it
may concern’, or Dear Sir/Madam, Manager, or
Business Owner. Resist the temptation of sending
the same standard letter out to everyone you can
think of. It may seem time consuming but it will
improve your chances of not being disregarded
on the basis of ‘someone else will support the
program’, and is therefore worthwhile. You don’t
need to reinvent the wheel each time you write,
but try to individualise each letter by including
something relevant about the organisation, for
example ‘The breakfast program will improve
nutrition, and in doing so, increase concentration
and capacity to learn, thereby reflecting ACB
Inc.’s community objectives of generating
social, cultural and educational benefits in the
community’.
Learning something about some organisations
is easier than others – those that have websites
often have key words you can use. For others,
think of more general words such as “The
breakfast program will improve nutrition and
educational outcomes, reflecting the enthusiasm
and community spirit demonstrated by the staff of
the ACB Corner Shop on a daily basis”.
26
Funding - How to Apply?
Most importantly, be up-front with what you
are asking for. If you are seeking financial
sponsorship of the breakfast program include
an anticipated budget, and tell them you are
seeking assistance in total, or in part if that better
suits their circumstances. If you are seeking
donations of food, specify what you are seeking.
If the breakfast program has other sources of
support, ensure you provide this information. Try
to ensure the letter is brief but clear, and close by
telling them of your intention to call or visit them
in a week or two to provide further information.
Finally, remember there is rarely such a thing
as easy money. If you are not successful on
your first contact, ask if they would mind if you
approached them at another time when their
circumstances may have changed.
Gentle
persistence often pays!
Applying for grants
If you have familiarised yourself with the website
www.communitybuilders.nsw.gov.au you will
have a list of grants to apply for, now and in
coming months. Each grant scheme will have its
own specific priority areas for funding, objectives
it wants met, issues it wants to see addressed,
and its own application format… unfortunately!
That means each time you submit an application,
the funding proposal you have prepared will
need to be re-written to a certain extent. There
is often a good deal of work required to put
together a decent grant application – but hang
in there because it can pay off, well. There is
rarely the need to go back to scratch with a grant
application if you follow some basic ground rules.
An example of a funding application, in this case
one using the ClubsNSW format, is included in
this resource (Appendix 12).
Firstly, fully research the organisation and the
aims of the grant scheme you are applying to
before you put pen to paper (metaphorically
speaking as the majority of grant applications
are now submitted electronically). Most funding
bodies prepare a set of guidelines to ensure the
information they require to make a decision is
provided in the application. It is quite easy to
start preparing a proposal, get half way through
only to find your proposal doesn’t meet a major
criterion. There is rarely much point in continuing
and you have wasted your time. Competition is
fierce for community funds so if you are not able
to provide what the funding body is specifically
asking for, don’t continue as there will be plenty
of applications that do meet the requirements –
and they will be considered above yours. If, after
thoroughly reading through the guidelines, you’re
not sure if the breakfast program fits with their
funding criteria, give the contact person a call
to discuss. They may even be able to give you
ideas on how you can adapt the funding proposal
so it does meet their requirements.
It is also always advisable to read through the
entire application form before starting to fill it in. It may be that some of the information you are
required to provide will require time to organise,
for example references or quotes. To ensure you
don’t miss the closing date for the application,
it is wise to get these balls rolling as soon as
possible.
27 Breakfast Every Day
Administrative details
Once you’ve found the grant scheme with
criteria matching the needs of your breakfast
program, try not to be overwhelmed by the often,
seemingly never-ending request for information.
Be organised before you start, and approach
the blank application form methodically, step by
step, section by section. Generally speaking, a
standard set of information is required for each
and every application including:
• Project title eg. ‘Gong Town Kids Gone To
Brekky’
• Contact person name and contact details
including email address
• Name and address of organisation applying
for funding
• ABN (ask school/community centre/
auspicing organisation administration or
search on www.abn.business.gov.au)
• Certificate of incorporation or incorporation
registration number and date (if organisation
other than government school)
• Details of relevant insurance coverage
• Proof of DGR status if applicable
• Bank account name and number, BSB, and
name of financial institution – you may wish
to open a separate account specifically for
the breakfast program
• GST registration date
• Summary description of your organisation’s
aims and key activities
• The main beneficiaries of your organisation’s
services, for example the age-group and
socio-economic background of the children
who attend your community centre
• Copies of most recent annual report
including audited financial statements.
• To
demonstrate
the
applicant’s
accountability and competence, you may
also be required to provide details of:
• Governance eg. your organisation’s
principal office bearers, management
committee or board of directors
• Staffing and organisational structure
• Financial management systems/funding
history
•
•
Policies addressing OH&S, and equity
issues
Volunteers engaged by your organisation.
It is worthwhile keeping all this information
current, and together in one place to avoid the
run around every time you wish to prepare a
funding application. It is useful to also keep
copies of other relevant documents that you
may be able to use in support of your application
such as letters of support (especially those
demonstrating community collaboration), results
of the breakfast program needs assessment,
school newsletter breakfast program articles/
example of promotional opportunities, and, if
you are seeking funds to continue an existing
breakfast program, even photos of the club
in operation (remembering release of photos
of children for any reason requires parental
consent).
Whilst on the topic of organisation, ensure
you keep copies of any applications you have
submitted, together with records of conversations
you may had regarding it, and all correspondence,
particularly if successful. If successful you will
be required to prepare invoices, may be required
to keep or submit receipts, and provide progress
reports to ensure accountability. Some form of
evaluation or final report is also often required
by funding organisations, and maintaining a file
of all relevant documentation will make fulfilling
accountability requirements so much simpler.
28
The Solution: the project – Its aims and
objectives
The need/issue
Many funding organisations will be seeking
to support projects that address a specific
population group and area of significant need. If you have conducted a needs assessment you
will have school community data to support the
need for a breakfast program. In addition to this,
funding bodies often require evidence of the
problem presented in demographic and socioeconomic terms as further justification of the
funding proposal. For example:
‘Studies show that eating breakfast provides
essential nutrients for growth and development,
is beneficial to learning and concentration, and
establishes lasting healthy eating habits. A
needs assessment conducted by Gong Town
Primary School in first term 2010, found that many
children were attending school without having
had breakfast. Our school Needs Assessment
found that reasons for missing breakfast include
parents not having the time to ensure that their
children have breakfast before they go to school,
lack of knowledge as to what constitutes a
nutritious breakfast, and the family not being able
to afford appropriate food.
Gong Town is an identified regional area of
need with a very young population with limited
secondary education. There is a very high
level of unemployment, and a large percentage
of single parent families with more than two
children. Many of Gong Town Primary School’s
students live on one of the several public housing
estates in the immediate region. It is clear many
of our students are missing breakfast as a result
of such socio-economic disadvantage’.
Demographic data for the Illawarra is available
from the Wollongong City Council Community
Profile. The profile includes results from current
Censuses of Population and Housing. To access
the profile visit www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au
click on ‘library’, ‘on-line resources’, and then
‘demographics’.
Once you have documented the need and
described the problem, you will be asked to tell
the funding body what you intend to do about
it, and give them a solution to the problem you
have identified; in this case ‘establish/continue
a breakfast program’. You will often be asked
to list the aims and/or objectives of the project.
Aims are the changes you hope to achieve as
a result of your work. For example, ‘The Gong
Town Breakfast program aims to encourage
healthy eating and lifestyles of children, who,
for a variety of reasons often related to socioeconomic status, are not eating breakfast before
attending school’.
Objectives are what you will do - the activities you
will undertake for those changes to occur and to
achieve your aim. It is essential those objectives
be realistic and measurable. The objectives of
your breakfast program could therefore be:
1. Establish a before school breakfast
program serving a nutritious breakfast in a
caring and safe environment
2. Serve fruit and (low-fat) dairy daily, as
recommended in Australian Dietary
Guidelines
3. Influence positive social skills among
children.
Ensure you match the aims and objectives of your
project (the breakfast program) with the aims and
objectives of the grant scheme you are applying
to. The aims and objectives listed above match,
for example, BUPA Health Foundation’s aim; “To
promote health research, health education, and
programs for leading healthier lives’, and the
objective of ‘funding new initiatives that provide
clear benefit to the Australian community in one
or more of the following key strategic areas: …
promoting wellness and/or tackling obesity…”.
29 Breakfast Every Day
The project
Once you have established the aims and
objectives of your project, you will need to
present a summary of your proposal. Ensure
the reader knows immediately what you are
proposing. Begin with ‘This project, Gong Town
Kids Gone To Brekky, will…’.
Highlight key words and reflect the terminology
used by the funding organisation to describe
what they are seeking. For example, Clubs
NSW seek to support “…projects/services
that contribute to the welfare and broader
social fabric of the local community and are
aimed at improving the living standards of low
income and disadvantaged people”. In this
case, for example, a funding application could
include: “The Gong Town Breakfast Program
will contribute to the social fabric of the local
community by influencing positive social skills
among the children. It will demonstrate strategies
for behaviour management such as rule and limit
setting, good manners, the art of conversation,
jobs and mutual responsibility, and sharing and
taking turns. Importantly, it will encourage the
children to be respectful of each other, and of
adults.”
Funding decisions are often made by a committee
who look for the major details of your proposal to
make an informed decision, so don’t risk confusing
them by saying too much. Consider presenting
information in dot points, and provide supporting
information as appendices if allowed, and it
adds to your argument (remembering to refer to
them in the main body of your proposal). Larger
grant schemes, particularly government, will
establish a secretariat to review all applications
before advising the decision making committee.
Provide as much additional, relevant information
as possible as an appendix to support your case
to ensure the secretariat has all the information
it needs to make its recommendations. Ensure
the precise planning gone into the establishment
of your breakfast program is clearly evident in
the submission.
Information you include here will depend on the
level of detail required – local funding programs
may be interested in details of operation such
as staffing, menus, times, reward programs
etc. Larger grant schemes are less likely to
be interested in the finer detail of the breakfast
program, requiring more of an overview to
demonstrate what you intend to do with the
funds. For example, “The Gong Town Breakfast
and Homework Club will provide a nutritious
breakfast to 25 school children each day in
a caring and safe environment. Breakfast will
include daily servings of low fat dairy and fruit,
and a regular hot dish. The program will run in a
corner of the school hall with the help of parent
volunteers. Older members of the Student
Representative Council will be on hand to assist
children complete their homework once they
have eaten”.
Finally, write clearly and spell correctly, be
persuasive but avoid waffle, and do not use
unexplained abbreviations or jargon. Funding
applications often have word limits so ensure you
stay within them; on-line applications frequently
reject key strokes beyond the word limit. You will
need to be concise so don’t be surprised if you
end up preparing several drafts before you are
satisfied with the result… and try to remember it
gets easier with practice!
30
The Budget
Community networks
Grant application forms usually request the total
amount of funding you are seeking, and then
include a separate section for you to itemise
the budget for the project. As explained in
Chapter 9, Funding - How much do you need?,
be realistic when estimating how much you need
to run the breakfast program, and ensure you
present a justifiable, clear and concise budget. You may not be required to provide the basis for
your calculations in the application itself, but you
may be asked to provide further information if
the figures appear unrealistic or at all ‘rubbery’. It is therefore advisable to research your costs
fully, and keep all workings out and paperwork for
future reference if necessary.
Increasingly, funding bodies seek evidence
of community participation and cooperation
between agencies working for similar goals
in the same community. You may be asked if
your application has been supported by any
other community organisations, in which case
any letters of support you’ve managed to gather
will be useful. You could be asked to provide
names and contact details of the supporting
organisation, or be asked for a written reference.
Seeking a formal written reference can take time
that you will not have control over, so bear that
in mind. It is always advisable, and considerate,
when asking for assistance from other people,
that you give them as much time as possible.
The ‘outline of the project budget’ section often
includes itemised costs such as administration,
salaries, consumable supplies, program costs
(such as telephone, stationery, postage, audit,
promotion), capital costs such as equipment,
and rent. Include your estimated amounts where
relevant to your request. You may also be asked
to identify other funding sources, and financial/
in-kind (goods and services) contributions from
your organisation. Don’t ignore this step as it
demonstrates support for the breakfast program
beyond this funding request and indicates viability
and sustainability.
As mentioned repeatedly in this chapter,
partnership and community collaborations are
very well regarded by funding bodies. If you
haven’t developed these relationships, think
about the organisations that would have an
interest in the breakfast program in your local
community. A local PCYC, for example, may
assist the same children who will attend the
breakfast program and in all likelihood would be
very happy to support your funding proposal.
If you’re not sure where to start, speak to your
nearest community or neighbourhood centre.
Community centres are always very active in
inter-agency networking in their community, and
can include you in relevant networks. You could
ask them to lend their support to the funding
application, and to put you in touch with other
local agencies with an interest in the benefits of
your children’s breakfast program. Members of
local community networks support each other,
and in so doing increase community participation
and build sustainable communities – so join in!
31 Breakfast Every Day
Monitoring and Evaluation
Sustainability/exit strategy
Funding applications always ask how the success
of the project will be monitored and/or evaluated
– how will funding bodies know their money has
been invested well? Chapter 17, Monitoring and
Evaluation, explains the process of evaluation
in greater detail, but the distinction between the
two is essential here as funding applications can
ask for details of either or both.
Most funding programs ask for a starting date
and a finishing date for the project. They are
increasingly also asking for information about
what will happen to the project once the funding
ends; who will fund the breakfast program once
the grant has finished? This is often presented
in an application in terms of ‘discuss the
sustainability of the program’, or ‘present an exit
strategy’ for the program.
Basically, monitoring is routine data collection
that will help you ensure the breakfast program
is on-track and operating efficiently. Many
funding bodies require regular progress and
financial reports. On-going monitoring of the
breakfast program will enable you to report on,
for example, numbers of students accessing the
program, and how the money is being spent.
Monitoring can also help you evaluate the
breakfast program, which is usually required
at the end of the funding period. In addition to
the data collected from monitoring the program,
you often need to gather information from other
sources such as participant surveys and teacher
interviews, to evaluate the success of the
breakfast program. Evaluation will allow you to
answer the question; did the breakfast program
meet its objectives?
‘Exit strategy’ is a phrase borrowed from business
to describe a plan for change of ownership, and
from the military to describe how forces plan to
withdraw from a war zone. It is not used in quite
the same context in ‘community project land’,
in that an exit strategy here is not so much an
‘escape plan’ as a future plan for the project
when the funding body is no longer involved;
what you will do when the funding ends. For
example, an exit strategy for the Gong Town
Breakfast Club could be that “The breakfast
program coordinator will continue to develop
local community relationships in an effort to seek
and secure ongoing community and business
support. Promotion of breakfast at school over
this period will encourage children and their
parents to eat breakfast at home before school,
thereby reducing demand on the breakfast club,
and the amount of support required to sustain it.”
In the budget section of the application you
may also be asked to identify other funding
sources, and financial/in-kind contributions from
your organisation. Don’t ignore this step as it
demonstrates support for the breakfast program
beyond this funding request and indicates
viability and sustainability; don’t forget to say as
much in the ‘sustainability’ section!
32
Proof read
The final step of the grant application process is
the proof read. Before submitting your application,
read through thoroughly to check for correct
spelling and grammar, that every question has
been answered in the desired format, and that all
required attachments are included. If completing
the application electronically, ensure you have
completed all mandatory fields and double check
each response has registered; for example yes/
no fields are correct. It is clearly important to pay attention to detail but
sometimes when you are immediately involved,
not only in the funding application but also in
the development of the breakfast program, it
is very easy to overlook the detail. It is always
advisable to call on a friend, preferably someone
who has limited or no knowledge of the breakfast
program, to proof read the application. It is likely
the funding organisation you are applying to will
have little knowledge about your proposal, so it
is wise to ensure a reader with no knowledge
thoroughly understands every aspect of the
application.
Finally, make sure you submit your application
on time. Late applications are rarely, if ever,
accepted.
33 Breakfast Every Day
Cha p ter
12
Promoting the Breakfast Program
Children’s breakfast programs are established
in response to an identified need. Their aim is
to encourage every student to eat a nutritious
breakfast before school in an effort to maximise
potential to learn, and improve educational
outcomes. So why are some breakfast programs
not sufficiently patronised whilst others are
bursting at the seams? The value of breakfast
is not in dispute. Obvious obstacles to the
success of a breakfast program revolve around
staffing and funding issues, however even when
a program is up and running smoothly, barriers
to their use often need to be overcome. Those
barriers can originate from teachers, parents,
and even students themselves.
A strong promotion strategy can overcome
potential barriers to attendance, and will
significantly increase the breakfast program’s
chance of successful implementation, support,
and sustainability. The strategy will need to
focus on four different ‘target groups’; the
children at school to encourage their attendance;
the parents of the children to encourage them
to volunteer (and to support their children
attending); teaching staff, and community
business and other organisations to encourage
them to support your breakfast program. A
key factor to consider for all four groups, is the
need for persistence and repetition to help build
familiarity, and to increase the likelihood of the
breakfast program message being ‘received’ at
the right time (which is often not the first time).
To Students
It is important that the breakfast program be
promoted and offered to the entire school to
reduce the possibility of stigma being attached
to the program. Clearly, most children eat
breakfast before leaving home, however studies
show that on any one day up to 40% of children
will not have eaten breakfast 1, 2. As discussed
in Chapter 1, The Importance of Breakfast for
Children, financial difficulty is only one reason
that children do not eat breakfast. Casting the
promotional net wide, across the whole school,
will bring in those children who, for whatever
reason, have missed breakfast. In so doing,
those children whose families are experiencing
financial hardship will be included without being
identified as such.
Much of the attraction of the program for the
children will depend on how it is presented and
how it is ‘sold’ to them before they even get in
the door. Make the breakfast program sound
(and be!) appetizing, eg.; ‘Come along for Great
food & Great company’, ‘Start your day full of
energy’, ‘Fruit, Toast, & Fun Times’. Promote
it as a happy place; ‘Happy, Healthy and…not
Hungry!’, ‘Brekky with your Besties’, ‘Chill and
eat your fill’… Try to focus away from the health
aspect and more on the enjoyment; promote as
‘good to eat’ rather than ‘good for you’.
Involving students in the establishment of
the breakfast program from the beginning
will increase their sense of ‘ownership’ and
be an encouragement to attend in itself. Ask
the children to name the program, develop a
logo, or make posters or promotional flyers. 34
Promoting the Breakfast Program
Consider conducting a naming or poster painting
competition to raise interest in the new club.
Ensure posters or flyers are well placed around
the school not only in the breakfast program
venue, for example in the vicinity of the school
canteen, on the school notice board, and in other
shared areas. Ask teachers if they would be
interested in placing a poster on the wall of their
classroom.
The breakfast program can be promoted
regularly to the children at school assemblies,
possibly combined with a short message about
the importance of a healthy breakfast and eating
well. Ask the school principal if you could address
the teachers at a staff meeting to ensure they
understand the reasons for the establishment of
the breakfast program, and to ask if they would
be willing to remind their class how important it
is they have breakfast – at home or with their
friends at the breakfast club. Perhaps the
staff would be interested in becoming involved
themselves, either as an occasional participant,
or as a volunteer helper (in a non-teacher role).
Advertising the breakfast program in the school
newsletter will inform parents about the breakfast
program (many of whom will be aware of the needs
assessment so it shouldn’t come as a surprise),
and ensure they understand the reasons for its
establishment. Parents can also remind children
about the program if for any reason their child
does not have breakfast at home. Consider
approaching the local free newspaper to advertise
in their community pages, or to submit a local
story about the program for them to publish,
particularly if the breakfast program is not held in
school premises. An example of a media release
is included in this resource (Appendix 15).
To encourage sustained participation, consider
end of term prizes for attendance or good
behaviour, or introduce a loyalty card not unlike
the coffee reward systems that abound, and
always increase promotion of the club at the
beginning of each term. As mentioned, repetition
and persistence is of vital importance to the
establishment of the breakfast program. It can
take a surprisingly lengthy amount of time for the
program to establish itself as an integral part of
the school community. Try not to get disillusioned,
particularly early on when attendance can be
unpredictable, even if you do feel like you are
saying the same things over, and over, and over
again!
At the end of the day, the most convincing
promotional tool at your disposal is the children
who attend the breakfast program. If they’re
enthusiastic about it, nothing will stop them from
telling their friends!
To Parents
Parental support is crucial to the acceptance and
use of the breakfast program. Anecdotal evidence
in this region suggests that parents often prevent
their child from attending the breakfast program
because they fear how it will reflect on their
family reputation. It is vitally important parents
are aware of the need that has been identified
within your school community, and the reasons
the breakfast program is open to the whole
school student body, not to specifically targeted
children. Attendance at the program should not
automatically imply poverty or neglect, and will
not if the breakfast club is presented positively
and enthusiastically to the whole school. It
needs to be stressed again, financial hardship
is only one of the many reasons children are
References:
1. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1997, National Nutrition Survey: Selected Highlights
2. University of Sydney, 2001, Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Study.
35 Breakfast Every Day
missing breakfast For example, lots of children
just aren’t hungry early in the morning and will
create a fuss if parents try and force them to eat.
However, no matter what the reason for going
without breakfast, the results are all the same;
behaviour and concentration in class is effected
to the detriment of the child and their class mates’
education. An example of a handout for parents
is included in this resource (Appendix 13).
The school newsletter can be used to inform
parents, clarify operating details, and, importantly,
to reassure them. It can also be used to attract
parents to lend a hand. Many schools find it
difficult to engage parents, often due to work
commitments and other restrictions on their
time, but also sometimes as a result of a general
disinterest. The creativity used, and enthusiasm
with which you promote the breakfast club to
catch the interest of parents, and maintain it,
counts.
Advertising in the school newsletter is the most
common approach to promoting school activities
and attracting potential volunteers. However
newsletter articles are also often overlooked,
so focus on making the article stand out. Try
to appeal to a wider audience including people
who are interested in helping out, but unable to
make an 8am start. Use catchy headlines such
as “The Breakfast Club needs YOU! If not you,
then your fruit salad, your home cooked muffins,
slices of oven baked omelete, banana bread,
pikelets..”. Don’t forget to promote to Dads; ask
if they could pop in for half an hour a day/a week
on their way to work and spend quality time with
their child and his/her school friends, eg. “Brekky
Club Kids Demand Dad Jokes!”.
Be specific when advertising for volunteers so
people know what they are getting themselves
into. Ask for a BBQ hand to cook up bacon and
egg muffins once a term, Chief Toast Maker,
Major Milk Shake Maker, CEO of Hot Milo, even
Student Supervisor to appeal to those parents
who don’t wish to be involved in food preparation.
An example of newsletter advert is included in
this resource (Appendix 14).
Focus on the benefits of volunteering rather
than the needs of the breakfast program, eg.
volunteers have been shown to be happier
with life than people who don’t volunteer in any
capacity; “Volunteer at Brekky Club – it’s Good
For You, and Great For your Kids!”. Use a positive
approach to a potentially negative aspect of the
early start, eg. volunteering to help out requires an
early start but frees the day up for other activities.
Again, the most convincing promotional tool
at your disposal is the volunteering experience
itself. Make the breakfast club a nice, cheerful
place for children to spend time before school,
and it will be a nice comfortable place for people
to volunteer their time – and they will spread the
word.
To teaching staff
Breakfast programs work best when fully
supported by teaching staff. When conducting
your assessment of need for the program, ensure
you engage teaching staff and address issues of
concern before they become embedded. When
the program is up and running, consider regularly
addressing staff meetings to update them on the
program and its benefits and success. Even better
if the teachers can drop in and use the breakfast
program themselves occasionally so they can
see the program in action for themselves, and
also engage with the children on a more informal
basis.
Be prepared to address issues of concern raised
by teachers which can include supervision
responsibilities (and concerns the breakfast
program might increase their workload),
children being late for class or eating in class,
36
and the belief breakfast is solely the family’s
responsibility. Engage teachers in the breakfast
program by seeking their advice on activities
you could introduce, or perhaps by working
together to improve links between breakfast and
lessons (see Chapter 15, Activities at Breakfast).
Emphasise the link between learning, behaviour,
concentration and breakfast, stressing a
breakfast program can make their job easier!
To potential sponsors
Engaging business and organisations in the
community, and securing vital support for your
breakfast program will quite often come down to
how you present ‘what’s in it for them’. Competition
for support is fierce, and all community causes are
worthwhile. Success may depend on your ability
to not only present a convincing argument for the
need for the breakfast program and it’s impact on
the lives of local school children, but also on the
presentation of a solid ‘win/win’ proposal.
The importance of breakfast, the need identified
for a breakfast program generally, and as
identified in your needs assessment, and the
impact of providing before school breakfast
programs on those children, are all discussed
in detail throughout this resource. The sample
letter included in this resource summarises those
important facts (Appendix 11). As discussed in
Chapter 11, Funding – how to apply, people like
giving to people, so be sure to highlight your local
findings and emphasise that any support they are
able to provide will go straight to helping kids in
their own community.
Ultimately however, business is just that - they
are not a charity, they are in business. Consider
what you can offer in return for support of the
breakfast program, and present this as a business
proposition; sponsorship is a recognised
marketing tool with value in the market place.
Support offered will probably vary between
businesses, and it is important not to undersell
what you can offer. Determine a variety of levels
of promotion you are able to offer depending on
the support provided, for example, in return for
a one off donation, a thank you in the school
newsletter. Promote the breakfast program to
them in terms of what their involvement can do
to help them market their business. In return for
‘a’ we can offer you ‘b’, which will result in ‘c’ - a
boost in sales.
Linking in with your breakfast program will enable
business to establish goodwill and increase
visibility in the local community. It will enhance
their public profile with relatively little outlay. If
there is competition in the local market, it can
give a business a competitive edge… priceless!
Promotional opportunities for business abound,
including direct advertising and development of
public relations. Think creatively about it.
Advertising is a huge cost for business, so ask
them to consider investing their advertising dollar
in the breakfast program, and you will take care
of the advertising. Advertising benefits include
the wide distribution of posters acknowledging
and thanking them for their support. Ensure
you provide the business with their own copies
to display at the workplace, promoting their
‘community spirit’ to their customers, thereby
encouraging their continued custom.
High
visibility of the posters in school will serve to
promote the business and its support of local
families. Include the logo/business name on all
correspondence regarding the breakfast program
eg., “Gong Town Breakfast Program, proudly
supported by Breads R US – the bread kids
love”. Ask the business if it produces promotional
t-shirts or hats featuring their business logo, and
wear them whilst at the club.
Think of how you can generate publicity to
promote the breakfast program and its supporters.
Good publicity has great value. Write a letter to
the editor of the local newspaper complimenting
the business on their generosity, or better yet,
consider preparing a media release about the
program. In it you could create a news story;
the establishment of a much needed breakfast
37 Breakfast Every Day
program, and of its new community saviour,
the sponsor. You could host an event such as
a celebratory breakfast, and invite media along.
Invite locally based celebrities to increase your
chance of good media coverage, all the while
ensuring promotional posters are visible, and
stressing how this great breakfast program
wouldn’t be possible without the wonderful
support of ‘Breads R Us’.
entering into any agreements with potential
supporters of the breakfast program.
The
documents provide a guide to acknowledgement
and endorsement of sponsors, use of logos and
signage, website use, and level of clearance
required – essential reading if your breakfast
program is held on public school premises. Both
policies can be accessed at www.det.nsw.edu.
au/policies.
Media or Press Releases generally follow a
standard format and aren’t at all difficult to prepare. In it you need to outline what is happening, when
it is happening, why it is happening, and who to
contact for further information. If there are photo
opportunities be sure to state this clearly as
newspapers are particularly keen on stories with
a chance of good pictures. Before photographing
children for any purpose however, please ensure
parental consent has been obtained. Most
schools seek permission from parents each year
as part of standard record keeping procedures,
and copies of relevant forms are kept on student
files. Print your media release on letterhead if possible,
keep it to one page, and fax or email it to the
editors of local papers, and the news editors
of local radio and television. If you don’t hear
anything after a few days, consider following up
with a phone call to ensure it has been received
by the relevant journalist. An example of a media
release is included in this resource (Appendix
15).
A cautionary note, sponsors may readily
recognise the benefits of their involvement in
your breakfast program. You, however, will
need to ensure the nature of their business is
appropriate, and in keeping with the nature of
the program. If the breakfast program is held on
school premises, the Department of Education
has developed strict ‘Sponsorship’ and separate
‘Commercial Arrangements’ policies and
guidelines. Please refer to the policies before
38
Cha p ter
13
What to Serve?
Good nutrition:
If you are considering establishing a children’s
breakfast program, there’s a fair chance you fully
recognise the importance of good nutrition to a
child’s health and wellbeing, and understand the
significant role breakfast plays in a balanced diet. The Australian Dietary Guidelines for Children
and Adolescents recommend children eat a wide
variety of nutritious foods taken from five basic
food groups:
• Breads, cereals, rice, pasta and noodles
• Vegetables and legumes
• Fruit
• Milk, yoghurt and cheese
• Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts and
legumes.
Breakfast provides the opportunity to encourage
children to eat foods from most, if not all, food
groups giving them a head start on attaining an
adequate nutrient intake each day. Children who
don’t eat breakfast at all are more likely to miss
out on vitally important nutrients such as calcium,
thiamine, riboflavin and iron. A balanced, healthy breakfast should be rich in
complex carbohydrate (including fibre), moderate
in protein, and low in fat and sugar. For many
of us though, this means little, we just want to
get the kids fed - quick! If you want to know
more about what it all means however, there are
countless websites that provide information about
balanced diets, and the nutritional requirements
of children. Take care though, as with all things
‘Internet’, not all information is reliable. To ensure
the information you are seeking is accurate and
the advice current, two sites are recommended;
NSW government’s www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au
, and NSW School Canteen Association/Healthy
Kids Association’s website www.schoolcanteens.
org.au. Nutrition Australia also has a useful
range of fact sheets on children and nutrition,
www.nutritionaustralia.org .
Food served at breakfast programs often includes
pre-packaged goods such as cereal and toast
spreads, so it is also useful to have some idea
of food labeling and what it all means. All prepackaged foods in Australia carry labels providing
basic information about what is in the food, a
list of ingredients and nutrition information, and
how best to handle the food. All labeling must
conform to the labeling provisions of the national
Food Standards Code. For further information
about food labeling and nutrition information see
www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au.
Many products also make certain nutritional
claims about their product including ‘lite’, ‘natural’
or ‘reduced fat’, which all sound very healthy – but
are they? Food labels are required by Australian
law to tell the truth, but the truth isn’t necessarily
clear and readily understood by the user of
the product. Before you spend your breakfast
program’s hard earned funds, know what you
might be paying a premium for, and if it’s worth the
money in your circumstances. The Frequently
Used Nutrition Claims fact sheet prepared by the
Healthy Kids Association (Appendix 16) will help
decipher all those confusing assertions.
39 Breakfast Every Day
Another common claim on certain food products
is ‘low GI’; does that mean it’s healthy and
should the children eat more of it? The Glycemic
Index (GI) is based on how slowly or rapidly a
carbohydrate food is digested and absorbed by
the body. It is a ranking of foods from 0 to 100
that tells us whether a food will raise blood sugar
levels a little, moderately or dramatically. Slow
release carbohydrates, raising blood sugar levels
just a little, for longer, are considered desirable
for health: Low GI = 55 or less, Moderate GI =
59-69, and High GI foods are 70 or more on the
index.
The overall nutritional value of the food is still the
most important factor to consider when choosing
a food – for example, chocolate is not a healthier
food than a mango because chocolate has a
lower GI (still useful to know when it comes to
justifying that binge however!). A good rule of
thumb for busy breakfast program coordinators
is to always consider the nutritional value of a
food first, then the GI. Having said that, generally
speaking, wholegrain foods, especially food
where grain is visible, are both low GI and the
best option nutritionally.
‘Use by’ dates are used on perishable foods, such
as meat, fish and dairy products, that may be
unsafe to eat after a certain date due to bacteria
build up, or because the nutrients in the food
become unstable. It is illegal to sell foods after
their use by date has expired. Food products
with ‘best before’ date marks are, on the other
hand, still safe to eat after the date has expired
if the product is not damaged, deteriorated or
perished. ‘Best before’ indicates the product
may have lost some of its quality and some
nutritional value after this date but food stored
correctly can still be legally sold after this date.
For further information about date marks refer to
www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au .
Finally, although not directly relevant to the
nutritional status of foods but whilst on the topic of
labeling, food labels must also include date mark
labels. Given the dependence of many breakfast
programs on donated and reduced priced food
it is important to know what the different date
marks mean. All food with a shelf life of less than
two years must be date marked. Many canned
foods, such as baked beans for example, do
not carry these marks because they keep their
quality and are safe to eat beyond two years.
Other foods carry the date they were manufactured
or packed so you can tell how fresh the food is.
Most packaged food will, however, carry either a
‘use-by’ or ‘best before’ date mark. It is important
to understand the difference between the two
terms.
40
Menu suggestions:
The nutritional content of the food served at
breakfast programs is clearly very important,
however there are a number of other issues to
also consider when planning the menu. The
budget you have at your disposal to spend on
food will often dictate what you are able to serve,
as will any food donations, kitchen facilities
and equipment available to you, the number of
volunteers to help prepare and serve, and the
number of children you need to serve in a set time.
Other factors that may need to be considered are
the presence of any food allergies or diet-related
conditions such as coeliac disease, seasonal
availability of food, and cultural appropriateness.
Feedback from children often also plays a role in
menu planning.
Most breakfast programs in the region have
a standard menu each day overwhelmingly
determined by cost, ease of storage, and speed
of preparation. Daily breakfast should include
a serving of fruit or vegetables, a serve of
protein food such as dairy products and eggs,
and a serving of bread or cereal. The important
thing to try and remember is that, generally, the
greater the variety of foods served, the healthier
the breakfast.
Cereal
The cereal aisle at the supermarket is packed
with a vast range of cereals, many specifically
aimed at the junior market, making selection
based on anything other than cost a nightmare.
So which cereal should you choose to serve
at the breakfast program? Over all, base your
selection on high fibre and low sugar content
before considering the added vitamins and
minerals many ‘junior cereals’ promote. A good
rule of thumb is to look at the ingredients list –
it should be short, meaning the cereal is less
processed, and a grain should be listed first. A
good wholegrain cereal is one with at least 10g
of total fibre per 100g of cereal. Avoid cereals
with lots of added ingredients such as honey,
molasses, sugar (dextrose or maltose), corn
syrup, salt, nuts, coconut and vegetable oils.
Consumer
magazine,
CHOICE,
has
developed a website to provide reliable
expert advice to help address the problems
associated with making healthy food choices,
www.choicefoodforkids.com.au.
CHOICE
highlights the fact that close to 70 % of products
in the ‘junior’ cereal market, one that directly
targets children under the age of 12, are closer
to confectionery than healthy food. The site
regularly conducts nutritional reviews of cereals
specifically targeted at children, using the now
familiar ‘traffic light’ labeling system to guide
consumers to the most nutritious cereal for their
children. The following selection of ‘junior’ cereal
came out on top:
• Sanitarium Weet-bix kids and Honey
Weets
• Lowan Honey O’s
• Nature’s Path Envirokidz Amazon Flakes,
Gorilla Munch, and Orangutan-O’s.
The final consideration, particularly for breakfast
programs serving donated cereals, and one
that CHOICE makes a point of stating, is that
although far from ideal, most ‘junior’ cereals are
better than no breakfast at all - and the added
vitamins and minerals they contain as well as
calcium from the milk served with it are a bonus.
A review of ‘best’ family cereals (those considered
more nutritious than most popular cereals even
with the addition of a teaspoon of sugar) resulted
in the following recommendations from CHOICE:
• Kellogg’s Sultana Bran
• Uncle Toby’s Vita Weeties, Vita Brits,
Fruity Bites Wild Berry
• Sanitarium Weetbix and Weet-bix Fruity
Wild Berry
• Nestle Cheerios.
41 Breakfast Every Day
It is highly recommended that breakfast
programs discourage the use of added sugar;
if extra sweetness is required consider topping
cereal with chopped fruit. In the experience of
some breakfast programs in the region however,
children may refuse to eat the cereal without the
addition of sugar. If weaning them off the added
sweetener isn’t working and there is no other
alternative, ensure application of sugar is scant,
and supervised by an adult.
Milk & Dairy
Milk and other dairy products are an important,
easily absorbed, source of calcium and other
nutrients for children, vital for good bones, growth
and development. However recent studies in this
country found that the vast majority of children
consume less than the recommended three or
more serves of calcium a day (a ‘serve’ being a
glass of milk or calcium added soy beverage, a
tub of yogurt, or a couple of slices of cheese).
One of the simplest ways to ensure a good daily
intake of calcium is to eat breakfast. If cereal
is served at the breakfast program it is usually
served with milk. If the children prefer toast try
to ensure they are offered at least one serve of
calcium, ie. a glass of milk to drink, a small tub
of yoghurt, or a slice of cheese on the toast, for
example.
The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend
children over the age of 2 years eat reduced-fat
varieties of dairy where possible. Reduced fat
varieties of dairy food generally contain 75% or
less of the fat in the equivalent full-fat product,
and often contain more calcium. Unfortunately,
full-fat products, particularly milk, are often
cheaper than reduced fat, but paying the extra is
a worthwhile investment in good health.
UHT milk is a convenient staple to keep in the
cupboard for when the fresh milk runs out, and
nutritionally there is little difference between the
two. UHT milk is heated briefly to kill microbes
that would otherwise sour the milk. It does not
contain any additives, and the heating process
does not affect the milk’s calcium or protein
content. Once opened however, like fresh milk,
UHT milk needs to be refrigerated to slow down
the growth of microbes caused by the introduction
of oxygen.
If children attending the breakfast program say
they don’t like the taste of milk or soy milk, they
rarely say no to milkshakes, smoothies, or the
addition of Milo; icy cold in summer and warm in
winter.
CHOICE
Food
for
Kids
website
(www.choicefoodforkids,com,au)
investigated
the nutritional status of Nestle’s Milo, which
is promoted as being ‘Low GI for slow release
energy’. Choice found that ‘low GI’ is actually
a feature of the milk mixed into the Milo rather
than the added Milo itself. Milo also promotes
its’ ‘6 essential vitamins and minerals’. Again,
the calcium content is in the milk, however the
Milo does contribute most of the vitamin A, B1
and B2 and all of the iron and vitamin C to the
drink. Milo also contains a moderate amount of
sugar so don’t be tempted to add more than the
recommended four heaped teaspoons of MILO
to 1 cup of (low-fat) milk. So, all in all, not a bad
addition to the breakfast menu – nutritionally or
‘GI-wise’.
Bread
Toast and english muffins are ever popular at
breakfast programs; they’re cheap, quick to
prepare, quick to eat, and tasty. When it comes
to bread for breakfast, wholemeal and high-fibre
white are very good, but wholegrain is best.
Wholegrain is a great source of dietary fibre and
B group vitamins, and is low GI to boot so the
kids feel fuller for longer. If the choice is between
white and wholemeal (brown) always go for the
wholemeal which, slice for slice, contains four
times more fibre, three times more zinc, and
twice as much iron as ordinary white bread.
42
Butter or margarine?
Fruit
Deciding which ‘yellow’ spread to use at
breakfast programs on a nutritional content
basis is complicated, so much so nutritionist Dr
Rosemary Stanton suggests going for ‘green’
instead – avocado! A suggestion that may not
always be practical for breakfast programs
however. Both margarine and butter are basically
fats, so whichever you choose, spread the toast
sparingly.
Children should be eating at least 2 serves of fruit
every day, and breakfast is a great time to serve
it. Many children miss out on fruit every day, so
even if funds are tight for the breakfast program,
it is recommended fruit be included in the menu
as a priority for the breakfast program. Fresh fruit
is usually served, but frozen, stewed, and tinned
with no added sugar, are also nutritious, tasty
and convenient options for breakfast programs.
Used with care due to its high levels of natural
sugars, dried fruit is also a good alternative. A
serve of fruit is classified as:
1 medium piece of fruit such as an apple
2 small pieces of fruit such as plums
1 cup of canned or frozen fruit
1 cup of grapes or chopped fresh fruit
4 dried apricot halves
1 ½ tbsp sultanas.
Butter contains roughly double the amount of
saturated fat (increasing ‘bad’ cholesterol) in
regular margarine. However the only additive
in butter is salt, so the choice to use butter is
often made on preferred taste, and it being a
more ‘natural’ product. Butter/oil blends may
be a better option as it reduces the amount of
saturated fat and, a consideration for busy
breakfast programs, it is easier to spread.
Even butter/oil blends contain more saturated
fat than margarine however, and for this reason,
Nutrition Australia recommends the use of
polyunsaturated or monounsaturated (increasing
‘good’ cholesterol) margarines over butter.
For breakfast programs, the added bonus is
margarine is easier to spread in a hurry. Not
all margarines are the same, and it is important
to check ingredients labels if wanting to make
a selection based on health benefits. Look for
margarines high in unsaturated fats and with
less than 1% trans fats. Dr Stanton considers
monosaturated products containing a mixture of
olive and canola oils, the best choice of margarine,
and recommends avoiding margarines containing
plant sterols to lower cholesterol, as they are not
suitable for children.
Chopped fruit platters are often a more
appetizing and less wasteful way to serve fresh
fruit to children, particularly small ones who can
find whole pieces of fruit ‘intimidating’. Other
ways to serve it include adding to low fat vanilla
yoghurt, topping cereal, or blend with milk to
make smoothies. Apple ‘twirlies’ are always
popular, and the outlay for a twirly machine is a
great investment for the breakfast program.
Due to its high sugar content, and its lack of
fibre and other nutrients found in whole fruit, fruit
juice is not a good alternative to fruit at breakfast
programs.
43 Breakfast Every Day
44
What to drink?
Fruit juice is often regarded the traditional
breakfast drink for children. However, juice
contains high levels of sugar – as much sugar
as most soft drinks, and is therefore not a
recommended beverage for breakfast programs.
If it is served, offer each child no more than 125ml,
half a glass, or dilute a small glass of juice 50:50
with water. A much better alternative is to offer
the children a glass of water and a piece of fruit.
Water is the preferred beverage to serve at
children’s breakfast programs. Drinking chilled
tap water is the best way to quench thirst without
consuming excess sugar and energy. It is cheap
and readily available, with the added bonus
of fluoride to help protect against tooth decay. Reduced fat milk is also a good option to offer
children.
Encouraging children to eat well
This may be a bit of an understatement, but
sometimes getting children to eat healthier is a
bit of a battle. The following tips can help you
fight that battle:
1. Patience is essential…research shows
children often need more than 10 exposures to
a new food before they accept it – persistence
pays!
4. Most of all, try not to refer to food as ‘good food’
or ‘bad food’ – you run the risk of younger children
associating healthy foods with unpleasant tastes,
and unhealthy foods as treats and rewards.
5. Present the food attractively – children like
their food to look good and be fun.
To encourage children to eat well try not to rely
on the same food prepared the same way very
day. Some ideas to alleviate breakfast boredom
are:
• raisin toast topped with ricotta cheese and
chopped strawberries
• baked beans on toast (a small spoonful
in the middle of the toast will enable the
children to eat it with their hands)
• scrambled eggs on toast (as above –
doing away with the need for a knife and
fork, and quick to eat)
• toasted muffins with sliced cheese and
tomato
• boiled eggs and vegemite soldiers
• toast thinly spread with honey, topped with
sliced banana
• grated apple or pear added to pancake
mix
• grilled cheese on toast
• half a pita bread, spread with ricotta
cheese, top with chopped apple or
sultanas, and rolled up.
2. Start slowly - Introduce one ‘new’ food a time.
Try having a ‘taster bar’ as part of your breakfast
menu once a week, with bite-size pieces of fruit,
and new foods. Talk together about the food’s
colour, shape, size, smell and texture.
3. Encourage socialisation by having the children
sit at the table with each other, teaching them
mealtimes are about sharing and talking as well
as eating. They are more likely to try new foods
if their friends are eating it too.
45 Breakfast Every Day
Recipes
T
llow
he fo
tious recipe
nd nutri
a
e
l
p
m
in g si
s will also add lots of in
terest
to
brea
k
fast
tim
e.
Banana Porridge (4 serves)
Ingredients:
3 cups whole porridge oats
500ml skim or reduced fat milk
2 mashed bananas
Handful of chopped nuts
Honey or marmalade to taste
Directions:
Soak the oats in a little water. Add half the milk and simmer. As the mix begins to
thicken add the banana and nuts, topping up with the rest of the milk to keep a firm
but moist consistency. Stir in a spoon of honey or marmalade to sweeten. Heat
through but don’t boil and serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Apple porridge (1-2 serves)
Ingredients:
1 cup water
¼ cup apple juice
1 diced apple
2/3 cup porridge oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup milk
Directions:
Place water, juice and apples in a saucepan and bring to boil. Stir in rolled oats and
cinnamon. Return to boil, reduce heat and simmer until thick. Serve hot with milk.
46
Porridge for a crowd
Ingredients for 10 serves:
3 cups porridge oats
3 cups water
1 litre reduced fat milk
3 tbsp sugar
Ingredients for 20 serves:
6 cups porridge oats
1 ½ litre water
2 litres milk
½ cup sugar
Ingredients for 30 serves:
9 cups porridge oats
2 ¼ litres water
3 litres milk
¾ cup sugar
Directions:
Place oats water and milk into large saucepan. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat,
stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat, cover and cook gently until thick and creamy
(about 12 minutes), stirring regularly. Stir in the sugar and serve.
Banana Honey Pancakes (makes 16)
Ingredients:
2 cups SR flour
2tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup reduced fat milk
2 Tblsp honey
50g butter, melted
2 bananas
Directions:
Sift flour, cinnamon and baking powder into bowl.
Whisk together eggs, milk, honey and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter.
Pour into flour mixture together with 1 mashed banana. Stir well.
Heat a non-stick frying pan over a med low heat.
Brush with a little of the melted butter and spoon in 2 tbsp of the batter.
Cook for about 2 minutes until small holes begin to appear on the top.
Flip and cook the other side for about 1 minute until golden.
Remove to a clean plate and cover with a clean tea towel to keep warm.
To serve, top with sliced remaining banana (or mash the banana if very ripe, and use as
a spread) and drizzle with a little extra honey.
47 Breakfast Every Day
Recipes
Apple Pancakes (makes 10)
Ingredients:
½ cup quick-cooking porridge oats
2 cups water
2 cups pancake mix
½ cup shredded apple
1 tbsp sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
Directions:
Combine oats and water and let stand 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients (batter will
be thin). For each pancake, pour ¼ cup batter into lightly greased hot fry pan. Cook
1-1 ½ minutes, turning when edges look cooked and bubbles begin to break on surface.
Continue to cook for another minute or so until golden brown.
Apple-Sultana Bread Pudding (10 serves)
(made day before – delicious for breakfast)
Ingredients:
2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
3 tbsp melted butter
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch salt
7 slices bread, crust removed, chopped
1 large apple, chopped
2/3 cup sultanas
Extra cinnamon
Directions:
Preheat oven to 180ºC. Grease baking dish. Whisk first 6 ingredients in large bowl to
blend. Fold in bread, apple and sultanas. Pour batter into greased baking dish and
bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon and bake until top is golden and
centre is set, about 35 minutes.
48
Crustless Quiche (12 serves)
(made day before – delicious for breakfast)
Ingredients:
1 cup reduced fat milk
4 eggs
1 cup grated zucchini
225g corn kernels
1 cup diced tomato
½ cup self-raising flour
1 cup low fat grated cheese.
Directions:
Preheat oven 180ºC. Beat milk and eggs. Add zucchini, corn and tomato. Add flour and
cheese. Pour into greased slice or small muffin trays and bake for 20-25 minutes (less
for muffins).
Tiger Toast (a variation of an old familiar theme)
Spread slices of toast with margarine and vegemite. Top with strips of reduced fat cheese
to create a tiger stripe effect. A bit of fun for the kids that makes the cheese slices go
further.
Tiny Corn Tarts
(Positive Food for Kids, Dr Jenny O’Dea)
Ingredients:
12 slices grainy bread
1 egg
2 tablespoons reduced fat milk
440g can creamed corn (or baked beans), heated
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 190ºC. Cut a circle from each slice of bread to fit into a lightly
greased muffin tin. Beat the egg and milk in a bowl. Brush both sides of the 12 bread
circles with the milk mixture and press into the muffin tin. Bake for 10-15 minutes until
golden. When cooled fill with warm creamed corn or baked beans. The cases will keep
a couple of days, unfilled
49 Breakfast Every Day
Recipes
Fruit Bread Baskets (6 serves)
(Baskets can be made beforehand and filled just before serving)
Ingredients:
6 slices fruit bread
Oil spray
2x150g reduced fat vanilla Crème Fruche
2 kiwifruit, 6 strawberries and 2 bananas (selection can be varied)
Directions:
Remove crusts from bread and flatten with rolling pin
Oil spray muffin pan and press bread into pan. Spray tops with oil spray
Bake 180ºC oven for 8 minutes or so, until golden.
When cooled spoon Fruche into bread cases
Top with sliced fruit.
Banana and Ricotta Fruit Bread Toasties (1 serve)
(For those breakfast programs lucky enough to have access to a toasted sandwich
maker)
Ingredients:
2 slices fruit bread
1 tsp margarine
2tbsp mashed banana
1tbsp reduced fat ricotta
ground ginger and cinnamon
Directions:
Spread 2 slices fruit bread lightly with butter. Place spread side down on heated toasted
sandwich maker. Top bread with mashed banana, and ricotta. Sprinkle with spices. Top
with second slice of bread, and cook until toasted.
50
Muesli Magic (4 large serves)
Ingredients:
200g chopped strawberries
2 chopped apples
500g low fat strawberry yoghurt
150g muesli
Directions:
Place half the fruit in the base of individual bowls, reserving a little for garnish. Spoon
over half the yoghurt, and then half the muesli. Repeat to form layers, finishing with
muesli.
Garnish with reserved fruit and served chilled.
51 Breakfast Every Day
Recipes
Bircher Muesli with Orange (6 serves)
(soak muesli overnight in orange juice then stir in fresh orange pieces before serving)
Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup orange juice
1 cup apricot-flavoured reduced fat yoghurt
1 cup reduced fat yoghurt
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup sultanas
1 cup of chopped orange segments
Directions:
1. Combine oats, orange juice, yoghurts and honey. Cover and set aside in the fridge for
2 hours or overnight.
2. Add the orange pieces and serve.
52
Bircher Muesli with Orange (10 - 36 serves)
(soak muesli overnight in orange juice then stir in fresh orange pieces before serving)
Ingredients for 10:
1 ½ cups self-raising flour
¼ cup custard powder
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon oats or bran
¾ cups chopped fruit (eg banana, apple,
pear, berries)
2 eggs
100ml canola oil
½ tablespoon vanilla essence
210ml fruit juice or reduced fat milk
Ingredients for 25:
4 cups self-raising flour
¾ cup custard powder
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup oats or bran
2 ¼ cups chopped fruit (eg banana, apple,
pear, berries)
4 eggs
250ml canola oil
1 ½ tablespoon vanilla essence
500ml fruit juice or reduced fat milk
Ingredients for 36:
6 cups self-raising flour
1 cup custard powder
¾ cup sugar
½ cup oats or bran
3 cups chopped fruit (eg banana, apple, pear, berries)
6 eggs
1 ½ cups canola oil
2 tablespoons vanilla essence
3 cups fruit juice or reduced fat milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 180ºC. Sift flour and custard powder together and mix with sugar
and bran. Add Fruit. Mix last 4 ingredients together and fold into flour mix. Spoon into
greased muffin trays and cook for 20 minutes.
53 Breakfast Every Day
Recipes
Carrot and Sultana Muffins for a crowd
Ingredients for 24:
½ cup canola oil
4 (500g) grated carrot
½ cup honey
½ cup brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup sultanas
½ cup reduced fat milk
2 cups (250g) white self-raising flour
1 ½ cups (200g) wholemeal self-raising flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Ingredients for 12:
¼ cup canola oil
2 (250g) grated carrot
¼ cup honey
¼ cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup sultanas
¼ cup reduced fat milk
1 cup (125g) white self-raising flour
¾ cup (100g) wholemeal self-raising flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Ingredients for 36:
¾ cup canola oil
6 (750g) grated carrot
¾ cup honey
¾ cup brown sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup sultanas
¾ cup reduced fat milk
3 cups (375g) white self-raising flour
2 ¼ cups (300g) wholemeal self-raising flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions:
Preheat oven to 200ºC. Combine carrots, oil, honey, sugar, eggs, sultanas and milk.
Sift the flours and cinnamon and stir into the carrot mixture until just combined. Divide
mixture into greased muffin trays. Bake 15-20 minutes until set and golden brown.
54
Fruit Muffins for a crowd
Ingredients for 10:
1 ½ cups self-raising flour
¼ cup custard powder
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon oats or bran
¾ cups chopped fruit (eg banana, apple, pear, berries)
2 eggs
100ml canola oil
½ tablespoon vanilla essence
210ml fruit juice or reduced fat milk
Ingredients for 25:
4 cups self-raising flour
¾ cup custard powder
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup oats or bran
2 ¼ cups chopped fruit
(eg banana, apple, pear, berries)
4 eggs
250ml canola oil
1 ½ tablespoon vanilla essence
500ml fruit juice or reduced fat milk
Ingredients for 36:
6 cups self-raising flour
1 cup custard powder
¾ cup sugar
½ cup oats or bran
3 cups chopped fruit (eg banana, apple, pear, berries)
6 eggs
1 ½ cups canola oil
2 tablespoons vanilla essence
3 cups fruit juice or reduced fat milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 180oC. Sift flour and custard powder together and mix with sugar and bran. Add
Fruit. Mix last 4 ingredients together and fold into flour mix. Spoon into greased muffin trays and
cook for 20 minutes.
55 Breakfast Every Day
Recipes
Breakfast Crumble (6-8 serves)
(Jasmine, from Fairy Meadow Demonstration School, submitted this winning entry to
Healthy Cities Illawarra’s Breakfast Recipe Competition in 2009. The crumble is best
prepared the day before for reheating the next morning)
Ingredients:
Base
7-8 large apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup water
1 can rice cream
Topping:
1 cup quick cook or rolled oats
¼ dup oat bran
¼ cup wheatgerm
¼ cup flour
¼ cup brown sugar
90g butter, softened
1 tsp ground cinnamon.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 180ºC. Place apples, sugar and water in saucepan and boil for 10
minutes, or until softened. Let cool. Stir rice cream through apple mixture. Transfer to
large ovenproof dish.
To make crumble topping, combine all ingredients in bowl. Spoon over fruit and bake
for 30 minutes or until toping is golden and crisp, and the apple soft. Serve with vanilla
yoghurt.
56
Fruit Smoothie
Ingredients:
½ cup chopped fruit (eg banana, berries, mango or peaches)
1 cup low-fat milk
½ cup yoghurt
1 teaspoon honey
Directions:
Whiz all ingredients together in blender.
Breakfast Burrito (makes 2)
Ingredients:
1Tbsp olive oil
½ onion, finely chopped
3 eggs
1 small tomato, finely chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs (parsley thyme, basil...)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2-3 Tbsp grated reduced-fat cheese
2 tortillas
Directions:
Heat the oil, add onion, and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
Beat the eggs.
Add eggs to onions. Cook for 2 minutes; add tomato, soy sauce, and herbs; and heat
until warm. Stir in cheese and remove from stove.
Place half the mixture in a line in the center of each warmed tortilla, leaving 2 cm at
either end of the line. Fold each end up to the filling, then fold in one side. Roll. Voilà (or
should that be Olay!) your breakfast burritos are ready!
57 Breakfast Every Day
Equipment
Now you’ve decided what food to serve, you
need to work out what equipment is needed to
prepare and serve it. Equipment required for
the breakfast program clearly varies between
programs and is dependent on the menu,
funds available to purchase equipment, storage
facilities, and number of children served.
Basic requirements include cups and plates
(preferably plastic), cutlery, a toaster, washing up
facilities, tables and chairs, a fridge, and storage
containers.
Several, more minimalist, breakfast programs in
this region ensure all food can be eaten with the
hands doing away with the need for knives and
forks, and even plates at a pinch. Cereal is a
bit difficult to eat with the hands so spoons and
bowls are clearly necessary if cereal is on the
menu!
Due to its low cost, ease of preparation, and
serving simplicity, toast is often on the menu.
Domestic toasters are reasonably cheap however
they often literally start to have a ‘melt down’
due to rates of use they are not designed for.
Commercial toasters are a much more efficient
and safer, though much pricier, option. These
are highly recommended if funds are available;
and are a good ‘one-off’ item to request from
potential donors or relevant grant schemes.
foods, and donated foods such as more loaves
of bread than can be served in a day or two.
Several breakfast programs also find access to a
barbeque a wonderful addition to their menu on
special occasions, whipping up bacon and egg
muffins and other treats.
If the breakfast program is not held on premises
with access to kitchen facilities, washing up is
an issue. Alternatives adopted in this region’s
breakfast programs include the use of a camping
sink complete with stand, and use of an empty
large plastic storage container used to store
breakfast program equipment. A kettle is used to
supply the hot water. Air drying is recommended
over the use of tea towels for reasons of hygiene,
however this is usually not possible due to other
use of the premises. In this case, ensure tea
towels are clean and dry before use each
morning.
Although not essential equipment many breakfast
programs find the addition of a radio playing
softly in the background, and cloths on the table
an easy affordable way to make the environment
a pleasant place to be.
Access to a fridge is essential if the food served
includes perishables. Other food preparation
equipment required may include pots, pans and
cooking utensils, chopping boards and knives,
a microwave oven, a blender/milkshake maker,
sandwich toaster, and electric frying pan for
pancakes. A freezer will enable the program to
make the most of seasonal gluts of perishable
58
Cha p ter
14
Health and Safety at Breakfast
Breakfast programs have a responsibility to
provide safe food in a safe environment, even
if the menu consists only of toast and a glass
of milk. Food should be handled in a way that
minimises bacterial contamination and growth,
on premises that do not pose a risk to the health
and safety of either children or adults.
Personal Hygiene
It is recommended the breakfast program
coordinator, and other helpers preferably,
undertake training in health and safety issues.
Relevant training is offered in the Illawarra by the
regional volunteer centre, Volunteering Illawarra.
They offer very useful short courses such as
Kitchen Health and Hygiene, at very affordable
rates. For further information see their website,
www.volunteeringillawarra.org.au.
Personal health and hygiene is an important
issue for both children and adults at breakfast
programs.
Children should be encouraged
to wash their hands thoroughly before and
after eating breakfast. If soap and water is
not readily available at the breakfast program
venue consider using disinfecting hand wash
that doesn’t require water, particularly before the
children eat. Children should also be discouraged
from sharing cups, food and utensils to minimise
the risk of contagion. From an oral hygiene
perspective, in the absence of tooth brushing
equipment, children should be encouraged to
‘swish and swallow’ water after eating breakfast
at school.
A number of breakfast program volunteers
are also involved in the school canteen and
may be interested in courses offered through
TAFE NSW that are also relevant to children’s
breakfast programs. Fresh Tastes @ School
is a 6 hour course focusing on healthy food
choices, whilst the Canteen Operations course
is an 18 week/78 hour program offered by
flexible delivery, meaning you can study at home
if you find attending weekly classes difficult. This comprehensive course covers workplace
hygiene, food safety, nutrition and healthy food
choices for school canteens, recipe modification,
food transport and storage, menu planning,
marketing and promoting your canteen. For
more information, visit www.tafeplus.com .
Food handlers should ensure they are not
suffering from a food borne infection. The NSW
Food Authority, www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au,
recommends adults avoid handling foods if
they are sick where there is a likelihood of food
contamination as a result of the illness, particularly
if they are showing symptoms of diarrhoea or
vomiting. Food handlers should ensure their
clothing is clean (an apron is recommended),
and their handbags and personal belongings
are stored securely away from food preparation
benches. They should take steps to ensure hair
doesn’t fall into food, and cover any bandages
and dressings on exposed parts of the body with
a waterproof covering. Food handlers should
also wash and dry hands thoroughly, often.
59 Breakfast Every Day
Hand washing
Kitchen hygiene
Many food handlers are confused about the use
of disposable latex gloves – how many times
have we recoiled in horror at the sight of the
gloved hand that just made our sandwich, take
our money, give us our change back, (maybe
even scratch their nose) before going on to make
the next sandwich….with the same gloved hand?
To meet food handler’s hygiene requirements
those gloves should be removed, discarded and
replaced with a new pair each time the wearer
does something other that handle the food,
and before working with ready to eat food after
handling raw food.
The standard of kitchen and food preparation
facilities will vary dramatically between breakfast
programs. In this region, they range from fully
equipped modern kitchens to fold out tables
and camping sinks. Whatever the kitchen
facilities available to your breakfast program, it is
essential they include adequate storage to keep
food clean and dry, and free from pests. Many
programs rely on large plastic containers on
wheels with tight fitting clip on lids to store food
and equipment safely if they don’t have access
to permanent cupboard space.
The NSW Food Standards Code does not
require food handlers to use gloves. Gloves
should be seen as one alternative for protecting
food from contamination by the hands, and are
particularly useful for covering bandaids, long
nails and jewellery. In most cases however,
rather than removing, discarding and replacing
with new gloves, it may be far easier and less
time consuming to thoroughly clean hands
using soap and warm water, drying with single
use paper towel. The Food Standards Code
recommends washing hands whenever hands
are likely to be a source of contamination
(eg. before handling food and after using the
toilet, smoking, coughing, sneezing, using a
handkerchief, eating, drinking or touching hair,
scalp or body). Hands also need to be washed
thoroughly before working with ready to eat food
after handling raw food.
Moreover, due to the high incidence of incorrect
use, the Food Standards recommend the use of
clean kitchen utensils for handling food (tongs,
forks, spatulas, and spoons) in conjunction with
clean hands, as preferable to the use of gloves
in most instances.
Consideration will also need to be given to
adequate access to cold storage for perishable
foods. Access to a fridge is often on a shared
basis, with the canteen for example, so it
is important to not risk compromising the
temperature of the fridge by overloading it.
Other considerations are access to hot and
cold running water for washing up. All food
preparation equipment and benches need to be
thoroughly cleaned after use to ensure there is
no opportunity for food contamination the next
time the equipment is used.
Finally, to avoid littering in areas surrounding
the breakfast program, and ensuing complaints,
make sure children have access to some form of
hygienic rubbish disposal – and, here comes the
hard bit, that they use it!
Food safety
Even with the best hygienic practices, if the
food is not handled and prepared correctly,
the bacteria often present naturally in food can
multiply and with it, the potential to cause serious
illness. For food poisoning to occur there must
be a chain of events:
• Bacteria is present on the food
• Conditions are suitable (warmth, moisture
and food)
• Time to grow and multiply.
60
Breaking the chain by preventing one of these
circumstances will prevent food poisoning.
Bacteria grow best in temperatures between
5º C - 60ºC; the Temperature Danger Zone. Stay
out of the ‘Zone’ for as long as possible. Keep
hot food hot (above 60ºC) and cold food cold
(below 5ºC). Limit the time perishable food is left
in the temperature danger zone to 2 hours.
Other routine practices to ensure the food served
at the breakfast program is safe are:
• When storing food in the fridge, either
transfer into a clean container with a tight
fitting lid, or cover with foil or plastic wrap
• To avoid cross-contamination in case of
spillage, always ensure raw food is stored
below cooked food
• Defrost foods in the fridge or microwave,
never out on the bench top, and do not
refreeze thawed food
• Thoroughly wash fruit and vegetables
before use
• Use separate chopping boards for
preparation of raw and cooked foods
• Pay attention to ‘use-by’ dates on packaging.
Further information on food health and safety
is located on the Healthy Kids Association’s
website, www.schoolcanteens.org.au. This very
useful website is intended for use by school
canteen staff, however much of the information
is also directly relevant to children’s breakfast
programs.
Reheating food
It is important food prepared beforehand for
reheating at the breakfast program is cooled
and reheated safely. The 2 hour rule in the
temperature danger zone applies so ensure food
is cooked thoroughly, then cooled to reasonably
warm before cooling completely in the fridge.
Food should then be reheated quickly and evenly,
and only reheated once.
Eggs
Eggs are a popular, cheap and nutritious
breakfast food, but unfortunately they are also
often linked to salmonella outbreaks. If eggs are
not handled correctly, the salmonella bacteria
can grow, which can cause illness when the eggs
are eaten, and it can cross-contaminate other
foods. The NSW Food Authority recommends:
• Eggs should be stored in the fridge to
ensure a longer shelf life
• Always wash your hands before and after
handling eggs
• Avoid using cracked or dirty eggs, even if
you plan to cook them thoroughly
• Refrigerate cooked egg which is not eaten
immediately.
Food intolerance and allergy
Intolerance of a food is very different to an allergy
to a food. Food intolerances are an adverse
physical reaction, not involving the immune
system, to eating a food or food substance.
Symptoms include stomach upsets, bloating and
headaches. Food allergy, on the other hand, is
an abnormal immune reaction to a food or food
substance. Symptoms include swelling of lips,
face and eyes, and where allergic reaction is
severe, anaphylaxis. If children have any special
dietary requirements of this nature, clearly, these
will need to be considered when planning the
menu at the breakfast program.
It is the parent’s responsibility to advise the school
if their child has been diagnosed with allergies
or health conditions that affect their wellbeing at
school. It is essential you discuss any concerns
regarding a child’s food intolerances or allergies
with the School Principal (or parent if the breakfast
program is not held on school grounds), and
that you are comfortable with managing those
concerns. Ensure all helpers at the breakfast
program are aware of any special dietary needs.
61 Breakfast Every Day
The NSW Department of Education and Training
has developed guidelines for schools to assist
in the management of children with allergies,
and treatment of anaphylactic shock. Those
guidelines are available on their website,
www.schools.nsw.edu.au/studentsupport/
studenthealth/individualstud/.
A safe environment
The breakfast program needs to be a safe
environment for adult helpers and for children
who attend. The premises need to be safe,
equipment needs to be safe, and work practices
need to be safe.
Helpers at the breakfast program, paid and
volunteer both, are covered by the the NSW
Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Act
2000. Under the Act, the ‘employer’ (eg. the school
principal or community centre manager) has a
duty of care to identify, assess and manage risk to
ensure a safe ‘workplace’. ‘Employees’ (workers,
paid and unpaid) also have responsibilities under
the Act, namely to take reasonable care for the
health and safety of others in the workplace, and
to cooperate with the employer to ensure safety.
Further information regarding OH&S policy and
procedures can be found on the Healthy Kids
website, www.schoolcanteens.org.au., in the
‘canteen management’ section. The information
is intended for use by school canteens, but is
very useful and relevant to breakfast programs.
•
•
•
Electrical appliances and cords are away
from water
Ensure knives are stored safely, and that
children cannot access sharp knives
Children are supervised when in the food
preparation area; particularly in the vicinity
of hot kettles and toasters. Stress the
importance of the ‘no running’ rule.
Unfortunately despite the best OH&S practices
aimed at preventing injury and illness, accidents
can happen. It is important to ensure all
breakfast program helpers are familiar with the
school/community centre first aid policy and
procedures, and fire and evacuation plans for the
premises. Locate the nearest first aid kit and fire
extinguisher, and check they can be accessed
outside school/centre hours. Ensure all helpers
are instructed in the fire extinguisher’s use, which
is hopefully hanging on the wall in the vicinity of
breakfast club. The time a fire extinguisher is
needed is no time to start trying to get it off the
wall (maybe even find your glasses), and read the
instructions for use. Familiarising all volunteers
with the extinguisher won’t take long at all, but
will save vital seconds should it ever be required.
As part of those OH&S responsibilities, take a
look around the breakfast program premises
and set up, checking for potential safety risks.
Ensure all:
• Electrical items are in good working order,
paying particular attention to the toaster, if
domestic, which is often used so much it
can start to melt
• Electrical power points are not overloaded
• Extension cords used are tucked away
safely to avoid trip hazards. Pay particular
attention to the power cord of the kettle if
one is used
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15
Activities at the Breakfast Program
Feeding children as well and as quickly as
possible tends to be the priority, by necessity,
for most breakfast programs in this region. The
social development aspect of children eating and
conversing together in a settled social setting
is also of great value. However, a number
of breakfast programs have introduced other
activities to their mornings, either on a regular
basis or as a celebration of special occasions to
maintain children’s interest. Whether the activity
is conducted before or after eating will depend
on the activity, and also on whether the activity
is considered a reward for eating well, or the
breakfast is the reward for the activity.
Extra activities at the breakfast program have the
potential to further benefit children academically
and socially whilst minimising disruption to all by
keeping the kids busy. Capacity for breakfast
programs to undertake extra work however,
as always, will depend on available helpers,
resources and time. A very successful model in
the Illawarra is the ‘Books and Breakfast Club’
which varies from a pile of books and magazines
children can pick up and read after breakfast, to
more structured individual book readings with
parent volunteers.
If you are thinking of introducing reading to the
breakfast program, speak to the school librarian,
or local public librarian for suggestions and ideas
on locating books, resources and appropriate
magazines.
Other popular activities at breakfast programs,
time and resources allowing, are drawing,
colouring in, and puzzles. Children’s activities
such as colouring pages, jigsaws and puzzles,
and various craft ideas can be found on two great
free websites, www.dltk-kids.com (American),
and
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/index.htm
(British). Activities can be located according to
themes, holidays and celebrations, and seasons;
both sites are very useful resources. Board
games such as snakes and ladders are also very
popular, time allowing.
Some programs provide a quiet table for
students to complete their homework, with willing
volunteers on hand to help out if necessary.
Older children may be able to assist the younger
ones complete their homework. Other programs
encourage the children to join in a mini fitness
session consisting of a few gentle exercises,
stretches or yoga to finish off, and start the day
very much the right way.
Alternatively, younger children always enjoy being
read to and ‘story time’ is a relaxing and calm
start to the day. Consider playing ten minutes of
an audio book each day; a sort of ‘radio serial’
where the next day’s installment will be eagerly
anticipated. For older children and young people,
reading the day’s newspaper is often appealing,
and avid readers may like the idea of a book club.
63 Breakfast Every Day
Theme days and celebrations
Special occasions allow for a bit of fun and help
maintain the enthusiasm and interest of the
children. A lack of volunteers can restrict the
variety of food routinely offered by breakfast
programs, however parents are often willing to
help out for a special occasion enabling a greater
range of foods to be served. Themed food items
can be served that are not only fun, they also
encourage children to be adventurous and try
new foods.
the events calendar at http://www.ourcommunity.
com.au/calendar . There is always something to
celebrate somewhere!
Breakfast across the world, or in a different
specific country each time, provides the
opportunity for children to sample foods from
other cultures.
If you have children from
backgrounds other than Australia, ask them or
a member of their family, if they would consider
coming along to share their knowledge, and
hopefully their breakfast, with the children.
For information on breakfast served in over 60
different countries, including great recipes, see
‘World Breakfasts’ at Breakfast and Brunch
h t t p : / / w w w. b r e a k f a s t a n d b r u n c h . c o m /
countryhome.php . For an easy to eat, quick to
make, healthy breakfast idea from Mexico that
kids will love see Breakfast Burritos in the Recipe
section, Chapter 13.
Dental Health Activities
A number of schools in the region celebrate the
start or end of school term with a whole of school
breakfast held in the school hall or quadrangle,
often inviting parents to come along with their
children. This is a great way to promote the
importance of breakfast for children, and to
promote the breakfast program to parents.
Certain times of the year lend themselves to
celebratory breakfasts such as Christmas (eg.
red and green theme), Easter (eggs and yellow),
Valentines Day (hearts, red, pink), Pancake
Day, Halloween (orange, spiders, pumpkin), St
Patrick’s Day (green) and other ‘special’ days.
Think creatively about foods you can serve
shaped or coloured to complement the theme of
the breakfast or, for an absolute wealth of fun
special occasion breakfast ideas, have a look at
the American site http://www.mrbreakfast.com .
For further information on forthcoming special
days you may want to celebrate at breakfast see
Tooth decay is a disease of the mouth that affects
the health of the whole body; and it often starts
very early in life. Children should clean their
teeth at least twice a day, before bed and after
breakfast. Some breakfast programs encourage
the children to bring in their toothbrush so they
can brush at school. The logistics of this are
often a bit tricky. Where do they brush? Where
do they keep their tooth brush? How do they
keep it clean? How do you make sure they don’t
use each others brush? What do they do if they
forget their toothbrush? ‘Swig, Swish, Swallow’
may be the answer.
Tap water should be freely available to children
at breakfast programs for many reasons, not
the least being its dental health benefits. The
fluoride in water protects and strengthens teeth,
and rinsing with water helps neutralise acid
in the mouth, and reduces the amount of food
caught in the teeth. To ensure children don’t
64
spend the rest of the day wearing their breakfast
on their teeth, breakfast programs could include
the ‘Swig, Swish, Swallow’ activity:
Swig
1. Children have a cup of tap water
2. Take the children outside or somewhere it
won’t matter if there is spillage
3. Get the children to take a swig of water and
hold it in their mouths.
Swish
1. Have the children swish or swill the water
around their mouths, using their cheeks
or shaking their heads side to side if they
don’t get the hang of the cheek thing (this is
where it might get silly…and wet!)
Swallow
1. Have the children swallow the water
2. Ask children to open their mouths to show
you their bright shiny teeth.
If you would like further information about dental
hygiene activities for children contact the Dental
Health Promotion Officer in your Area Health
Service; Illawarra: phone 1300 369 651, or visit
http://www.sesiahs.health.nsw.gov.au/Services/
Dental_Services/ChildDentalServices.asp .
Links to Lessons
•
•
•
•
•
•
Breakfast programs are often quite hurried affairs
and there is rarely much time to introduce activities
to optimise the health and educational benefits
programs can offer.
Consider approaching
teachers to gauge interest in linking the breakfast
program to lessons by incorporating activities
based around breakfast. Links between the
breakfast program and the curriculum would
promote the importance of breakfast to the
students, and the breakfast program. Breakfast
could be the focus of lessons across the
curriculum including:
• Health: The links between breakfast and
health are well established. Class activities
to develop this concept could focus on
the importance of breakfast, what makes
a healthy breakfast (eg. younger children
could draw what they think is a healthy
breakfast on a blank picture of a plate),
what children in the class eat for breakfast,
then compare. Link this into a broader
discussion of the five food groups and the
nutrients breakfast provides.
Cooking: Make simple dishes that can be
eaten for breakfast, such as fruit smoothies
or fruit salad, to link in with the health aspect
above.
Art: Design posters, menus and promotional
logos for the breakfast program.
Geography: Discuss traditional breakfast
foods from around the world to provide
cultural insight and encourage children
to try different foods. Tasting a dish from
a country being discussed will add to the
interest.
Maths: Survey the class to see who had
breakfast each day, and what they ate.
Graph the answers to establish a pattern
and discuss what this may mean. Identify
reasons why children may not be eating
breakfast, or how they could improve their
breakfast.
English: Investigate advertising and how
food companies promote their breakfast
food products. Discuss the message they
present.
HSIE: Identify foods students eat for
breakfast. Discuss where breakfast foods
come from and follow food production from
the plate back to the original sources.
An example of a lesson plan for primary school
students is provided as a guide (Appendix 17).
The plan was prepared by the Child Nutrition
Outreach Program, Massachusetts Department
of Education, USA. It, and lesson plans for other
grades, can be downloaded from their website,
www.meals4kids.org/food4thought.html
65 Breakfast Every Day
Cha p ter
16
Behaviour
Exasperated words from a breakfast program
coordinator at the end of her/his tether?
“The children now love luxury; they have bad
manners, contempt for authority; they show
disrespect for elders and love chatter in place
of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the
servants of their households. They no longer
rise when elders enter the room. They contradict
their parents, chatter before company, gobble
up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and
tyrannise their teachers.”
Well not quite. Socrates, the ancient Greek
Philosopher, wrote those words around two
and a half thousand years ago. The perceived
poor behaviour of children has clearly been an
issue for some time! To a point, ‘perceived’ is
probably the key. Children, depending on their
age, are naturally prone to excitement, and can
often have limited self-discipline and patience.
Knowledge of appropriate and acceptable
behaviour according to society’s standards and
expectations is a gradual learning process. In
certain circumstances however, children are
ignorant of how they should behave as manners
and polite behaviour have not been routinely
taught in the home environment. For those
children the breakfast program can demonstrate
and encourage good manners, and allow the
child to develop social skills they may not
otherwise have the opportunity to.
Some children are more excitable and impulsive
than others, and chances are most children
attending the breakfast programs will have their
‘moments’. To minimise disruption and ensure
the breakfast program is a calm, happy, and
friendly environment for all, setting behavioural
ground rules, or a code of conduct, is essential.
Some programs involve the children themselves
in developing rules and clarifying expectations,
increasing the chance of the rules actually being
followed. An example of a code of conduct
prepared by a breakfast program in the Illawarra
is included in this resource (Appendix 18).
One of the attractions of the breakfast programs,
for the children, is the informal environment and
the relationships many of them form with adults
they trust. Coordinators don’t usually want to
risk this by being disciplinarian, and instead, find
that an approach based on respect encourages
respect in return. Dealing with groups of children
is often demanding.
Patience, endurance,
consistency, and ability to count to ten are
essential personal qualities for all helpers at the
breakfast program!
It may be difficult at larger programs, but try to
learn the children’s names and use them often.
Ensure the children know how to address all
helpers, and wear name badges if necessary.
Aim to use positive language and good manners
when dealing with the children, and make it clear
you expect same in return. When reprimand is
required, try not to present as too authoritarian
and provide explanations where possible.
Highlight and complement a child’s good
manners or kind behaviour to others. A number
of programs in the region formally acknowledge
good behaviour with reward programs such as
a gold star chart with prizes and certificates
awarded at the end of each week/month/term.
66
Behaviour
Consider the ratio of adult to children to ensure
adequate supervision and lessen the chances
of disruptive behaviour. Despite the greatest
respect with which you treat a child, the highest
level of attention paid, and the endless patience
demonstrated however, there will be instances
of behaviour requiring discipline.
When
establishing the ground rules, think about what
the consequences for not sticking to them will be.
Discuss instances of continuing poor behaviour
with the appropriate teacher, counselor, or school
principal, for strategies on how best to deal with it.
It may be that the child misbehaving consistently
is the child most in need of the breakfast program,
so banning the child from attending should only
be seen as a last resort. Report all instances or
suspicion of bullying to the school.
67 Breakfast Every Day
Cha p ter
17
Monitoring and Evaluation
Your breakfast program has been established to
meet an identified need, but how will you know if
you are meeting that need, whether you need to
change the way you do things, or even need to
try something completely different? Monitoring
and evaluation can provide the answers, and
whilst they are addressed in the last chapter of
this resource, they are essential activities that
need to be considered in the initial planning
process and very often implemented from day
one of the program.
The two terms often go hand in hand but there
is a difference, and you may be required to
do either or both by sponsors and funding
organisations. Monitoring is the systematic
collection of information that will help you ensure
the breakfast program is operating efficiently and
according to plan; it can tell you what is happening.
Evaluation is a process which seeks an answer
to the question ‘is the breakfast program meeting
its aims and objectives?’ Monitoring informs the
evaluation, and in turn, evaluation can tell you
what the monitoring data means.
Monitoring is a routine activity carried out through
the life of the breakfast program to check it is
on track. At a minimum, breakfast programs
should collect and collate data on expenditure,
food usage, and student attendance. Financial
monitoring checks budget expenditure and aids
accurate money management; food monitoring
observes usage and wastage, and informs menu
design and ordering; and attendance monitoring
observes the number of students accessing the
program. Importantly, attendance monitoring
can also be used to check whether those children
most in need are indeed attending the breakfast
program.
It may seem at times that reports make the
world go around, and you will probably be
asked to report on breakfast program progress
often. Don’t stress though, because if you have
collected and recorded information monitoring
the breakfast program on a systematic basis,
you will be able to provide reports at the drop
of a hat. It is worthwhile compiling data on a
regular basis, monthly totals for example, to
observe trends and to avoid having to go right
back to the beginning and examining individual
statistics, each time you are asked to provide
a report. Tallying budgets on a regular basis,
clearly in writing as opposed to keeping a bundle
of fading receipts in an envelope, will allow ready
control of funds and cash flow, and assist full
accountability.
Monitoring can also help you evaluate the
breakfast program. Evaluation is often required
at the end of a funding period, or as determined
in the program’s planning stages such as after
12 month’s implementation. Evaluation will allow
you to make certain decisions about the breakfast
program – is the breakfast program meeting its
objectives of, for example, ‘influencing positive
social skills among children’, or ‘serving fruit
and low-fat dairy daily, as recommended by the
Australian Dietary Guidelines’? An example
of a simple evaluation report is included in this
resource (Appendix 19).
68
The first steps in evaluating the breakfast program
is to decide what you need to know to determine
the degree to which the objectives have been
met, and how you will measure the program’s
impact. Will quantitative data (numbers, facts)
such as that obtained from routine monitoring be
enough, or will additional qualitative (opinions,
feelings, experiences) information be required?
For example, whether fruit and dairy has been
served on a regular basis can be easily established
through routine food monitoring. However to
determine whether the program has ‘influenced
positive social skills among children’, qualitative
data based on personal observation and surveys
would be required. You will need to show there
is behavioural change and that change can be
attributed to the breakfast program.
To do this you would need to survey teachers
before the program commences, and record
personal observations of breakfast program
helpers from the beginning. Initial findings can
then be compared with results of repeat survey/
observations after the breakfast program has
been implemented, clearly demonstrating any
changes. Methods to gather information of
this nature (qualitative data) can range from
written surveys and questionnaires, one on one
interviews, presentation to groups such as P&C
meetings, and observing the children ‘in action’.
Unfortunately, sometimes, some things are
beyond your control. In the event that your
breakfast program has experienced barriers or
restrictions that have affected its operation in
some way, and as a result, the findings of the
evaluation are not as positive as you would
like, be sure to document those issues in the
evaluation report.
NEED TO KNOW MORE?
The purpose of the ‘Breakfast Every Day…
fuel to learn and energy to excel’ resource is
to help schools and community centres in the
Illawarra establish breakfast programs and, most
importantly, keep them going. It is hoped anyone
involved in the provision of breakfast programs
seeking answers to questions that will inevitably
arise, will ‘dip’ in and out of the resource as
required.
Based on the experience of breakfast program
coordinators in the Illawarra, you will have lots
of good days and, inevitably, some bad days.
Breakfast programs rely on hard work, good will,
and persistence. There are bound to be times
when it all seems too much, your enthusiasm
wanes, and you wonder why you bother. During
those times, we hope you will pick up this
resource, ‘dip’ in and find something that helps
solve the problem, and reinvigorates.
If you find you need further support there is a
wealth of websites and resources available that
may be of assistance. In the following chapter,
References and Useful Contacts, you will find a
listing of useful resources and websites focusing
on all aspects of community breakfast programs.
It is not intended to be an exhaustive list, but in
our experience, a useful one.
Good Luck with the breakfast program – you’re
doing a great job!
69 Breakfast Every Day
References & Useful Contacts
1. THE IMPORTANCE OF BREAKFAST FOR CHILDREN
Better Health Channel, 2010, Breakfast, www.betterhealth,vic.gov.au
CSIRO, 2007, Start With Breakfast, www.csiro.au
MBF, 2009, MBF Healthwatch Survey, www.mbf.com.au
Nutrition Australia, NSW Division, 2006, Healthy Breakfast Tips ‘n’ Tricks, www.nutritionaustralia.org
New Policy Institute (UK), 2002, Improving Breakfast Clubs: Lessons from the best, www.npi.org.uk
Radd, Sue, 2004, The Breakfast Book, Sydney, Australia.
2. IS A SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM THE ANSWER?
Change 4 Life Program, Department of Health (UK), 2009, Breakfast 4 Life: Local supporter’s
toolkit, www.nhs.uk/change4life
Kidspot Australia, 2009, Easy Breakfast Ideas, www.kidspot.com.au
Nutrition Australia, 2010, Kids Brainy Breakfast Ideas, www.nutritionaustralia.org
Raising Children Network, 2009, How to Get your Child to eat Breakfast,
www.raisingchildren.net.au
3. BEFORE YOU START – The needs assessment
ContinYou (UK), 2009, Breakfast Club Plus: Planning your club, www.continyou.org.uk
New Policy Institute (UK) & Kellogg’s UK, 2000, Breakfast Clubs: A how to guide, www.npi.org.uk
NSW Department of Health, 1997, Does your school need to provide breakfast: Guidelines to
needs assessment, implementation and evaluation.
Scottish Community Diet Project, 2004, Breakfast Clubs. More of a head start,
www.dietproject.org.uk
Tropical Public Health Unit, Queensland Department of Health, 2003,
Breakfast Boost: A guide to providing breakfast in the school setting.
70
4. PLANNING THE BREAKFAST PROGRAM – Whose responsibility?
ContinYou (UK), 2009, Breakfast Club Plus: Planning your club, www.continyou.org.uk
Leeds Children’s Breakfast Initiative, 2004, Breakfast Club Good Practice Guide,
www.thefamilyhubleeds.org
New Policy Institute (UK) & Kellogg’s UK, 2000, Breakfast Clubs: A how to guide,
www.npi.org.uk
NSW Department of Health, 1997, Does your school need to provide breakfast: Guidelines to
needs assessment, implementation and evaluation.
5. STAFFING THE BREAKFAST PROGRAM
Esmond, Judy, 2005, Count on Me! 501 Ideas on Retaining, Recognising and Rewarding
Volunteers, WA.
Scottish Community Diet Project, 2004, Breakfast Clubs. More of a head start,
www.dietproject.org.uk
NSW Centre for Volunteering, 2010, Youth Volunteering, www.youthvolunteering.gov.au
NSW School Canteen Association, 2010, Canteen Staff and Volunteers, www.healthy-kids.com.au
Volunteering Illawarra, 2010, Managing Your Volunteers, www.volunteeringillawarra.org.au
6. RECRUITING VOLUNTEERS FOR THE BREAKFAST PROGRAM
Esmond, Judy, 2005, Count on Me! 501 Ideas on Retaining, Recognising and Rewarding
Volunteers, WA.
More Volunteers, 2007, Ultimate Ideas Newsletter, Issue 21, www.morevolunteers.com
NSW School Canteen Association, 2010, Volunteering – The Facts, www.healthy-kids.com.au
NSW Centre for Volunteering, 2010, NSW Guide To Volunteering, www.volunteeringnsw.gov.au
NSW Centre for Volunteering, 2010, Youth Volunteering, www.youthvolunteering.gov.au
Our Community, 2010, Valuing Our Volunteers, www.ourcommunity.org.au
Scottish Community Diet Project, 2004, Breakfast Clubs. More of a head start,
www.dietproject.org.uk
Volunteering Australia, 2007, 101 Top Tips to Recognise Volunteers, www.volunteeringaustralia.org
Volunteering Illawarra, 2010, Managing Your Volunteers, www.volunteeringillawarra.org.au
71 Breakfast Every Day
7. VOLUNTEERS – Legal issues
NCOSS (Council of Social Service of NSW), 2010, Public Liability and Volunteers Insurance,
www.ncoss.org.au
NSW Centre for Volunteering, 2010, NSW Guide to Volunteering, www.volunteeringnsw.gov.au
NSW Commission for Children and Young People, 2010, Working With Children Check,
https://check.kids.nsw.gov.au
NSW Department of Education and Training, 2010, Working with Children Check Procedures,
www.det.nsw.edu.au
Our Community, 2010, General Risk Management and Insurance, www.ourcommunity.com.au
Volunteering Illawarra, 2010, Managing Your Volunteers, www.volunteeringillawarra.org.au
8. WHERE & WHEN?
Scottish Community Diet Project, 2004, Breakfast Clubs. More of a head start,
www.dietproject.org.uk
ContinYou (UK), 2010, Breakfast Club Plus: Getting Started, www.continyou.org.uk
9. FUNDING – How much do you need?
Community Builders NSW, 2008, A Guide to Submission Writing,
www.communitybuilder.nsw.gov.au
Scottish Community Diet Project, 2004, Breakfast Clubs. More of a head start,
www.dietproject.org.uk
10. FUNDING – Sources:
ACT Department of Education and Training, 2006, Healthy Fund Raising Ideas for ACT School
Communities, www.det.act.gov.au
Australian Red Cross, 2010, Good Start Breakfast Program, www.redcross.org.au
Australian Taxation Office, 2010, Non-Profit Organisations, www.ato.gov.au
Clubs NSW, 2010, CDSE (Community Development Support expenditure) Guidelines and Funding
Categories, www.clubsnsw.com.au
Community Builders, 2010, Funding and Grants, www.communitybuilders.nsw.gov.au
IMB, 2010, IMB and Your Community, www.imb.com.au
72
Foodbank NSW, 2010, www.foodbank.com.au
Food Fairness Illawarra, 2007, Donating Food: Making it easier to give back to your community,
www.foodfairnessillawarra.org.au
Local Business Guide, 2010, Business Directory, www.localbusinessguide.com.au
NSW Department of Education and Training, 2009, Commercial Arrangements – School based
activities policy and guidelines, www.det.nsw.edu.au/policies
Our Community, 2010, Community Funding, www.ourcommmunity.com.au/funding
Our Community, 2009, Marketing Guru, www.ourcommunity.org.au
Regional Development Australia, 2010, Foundations, www.communitybuilders.nsw.gov.au
Sponsorship Mechanics, AP Marketing Works, 2008, The Sponsorship Mechanics Tool Kit,
www.sponsorshipmechanics.com.au
The Parents Jury, 2010, Healthy School Fundraising, www.parentsjury.org.au
11. FUNDING – How to apply
Clubs NSW, 2010, CDSE (Community Development Support expenditure) Guidelines and Funding
Categories, www.clubsnsw.com.au
Community Builders NSW, 2008, A Guide to Submission Writing,
www.communitybuilder.nsw.gov.au
Community Funding Centre, Our Community, 2010, Raising Funds for One-off Needs,
www.ourcommmunity.com.au/funding
ContinYou (UK), 2010, Breakfast Club Plus: Getting Started, www.continyou.org.uk
Our Community Marketing Guru, 2009, www.ourcommunity.org.au
Sponsorship Mechanics, AP Marketing Works, 2008, The Sponsorship Mechanics Tool Kit,
www.sponsorshipmechanics.com.au
Ulladulla Community Resources Centre, 2006, The Funding Maze: A guide to finding your way
through.
Wollongong City Council, 2009, Wollongong Community Profile, www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au
73 Breakfast Every Day
12. PROMOTING THE BREAKFAST CLUB
More Volunteers, 2007, Ultimate Ideas Newsletter, Issue 21, www.morevolunteers.com
National Dairy Council (USA), 2009, Teachers’ Frequently Asked Questions, www.
nutritionexplorations.org
New Policy Institute (UK), 2002, Improving Breakfast Clubs: Lessons from the best, www.npi.org.uk
NSW Centre for Volunteering, 2010, NSW Guide to Volunteering, www.volunteeringnsw.gov.au
NSW Department of Education and Training, 2009, Sponsorship Policy and Sponsorship
Guidelines, www.det.nsw.edu.au/policies
NSW School Canteen Association, 2007, Volunteering – The Facts, www.healthy-kids.com.au
Our Community Marketing Guru, 2009, www.ourcommunity.org.au
Scottish Community Diet Project, 2004, Breakfast Clubs. More of a head start,
www.dietproject.org.uk
Sponsorship Mechanics, AP Marketing Works, 2008, The Sponsorship Mechanics Tool Kit,
www.sponsorshipmechanics.com.au
US Department of Education, School & Community Nutrition, 2002, Breakfast Marketing, New York.
Volunteering Australia, 2007, 101 Top Tips to Recognise Volunteers, www.volunteeringaustralia.org
Volunteering Illawarra, 2010, Managing Your Volunteers, www.volunteeringillawarra.org.au
13. WHAT TO SERVE?
CHOICE: Food for Kids, 2010, Breakfast Cereals, www.choicefoodforkids.com.au
ContinYou (UK), 2009, Breakfast Club Plus: How do we encourage members to eat well?,
www.continyou.org.uk
CSIRO, 2007, Grains Are Great, www.csiro.au
CSIRO, 2007, Help Young Bones Grow Strong, www.csiro.au
Glycemic Index Foundation, 2010, About Glycemic Index, www.glycemicindex.com
Healthy Kids Association (School Canteen Association), 2010, Reading Food Labels,
www.schoolcanteens.org.au
Healthy Kids, 2010, Healthy Drinks, www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au
74
Heart Foundation of Australia, 2009, Breakfast Cereals, www.hearfoundation.org.au
Kidspot Australia, 2009, Breakfast Basics, www.kidspot.com.au
NHMRC (National Health & Medical Research Council), 2003, Dietary Guidelines for Children and
Adolescents in Australia, www.nhmrc.gov.au
NSW Food Authority, 2010, Food Labels, www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au
Nutrition Australia, NSW Division, 2006, Healthy Breakfast Tips ‘n’ Tricks, www.nutritionaustralia.org
O’Dea, Jenny, 2005, Positive Food for Kids, Sydney, Australia.
Radd, Sue, 2004, The Breakfast Book, Sydney, Australia.
Stanton, Rosemary, 2007, Butter vs. Margarine, www.woolworths.com.au
Stanton, Rosemary, 2007, Which Spread?, www.woolworths.com.au
Stanton, Rosemary, 2007, Which Bread?, www.woolworths.com.au
Tropical Public Health Unit, Queensland Department of Health, 2003, Breakfast Boost: A guide to
providing breakfast in the school setting.
14. HEALTH & SAFETY AT BREAKFAST
Community Insurance& Risk Management Centre, Our Community, 2010, Risk Management
Checklists, www.ourcommunity.com.au/insurance
NSW Centre for Volunteering, 2010, NSW Guide To Volunteering, www.volunteeringnsw.gov.au
NSW Department of Education, 2010, Individual Students Who Need Help with Health Issues,
www.schools.nsw.edu.au.
NSW Food Authority, 2006, Health and Hygiene Requirements of Food Handlers,
www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au
NSW Food Authority, 2006, Safe Food Tips, www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au
NSW Food Authority, 2006, Safe Use of Eggs, www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au
NSW School Canteen Association, 2007, Food Safety and Hygiene - Fact sheets,
www.healthy-kids.com.au or www.schoolcanteens.org.au
Nutrition Australia, NSW Division, 2006, Healthy Breakfast Tips ‘n’ Tricks,
www.nutritionaustralia.org
75 Breakfast Every Day
SA Department of Health, Food Section, 2008, Food Safety Fundamentals,
www.sahealth.sa.gov.au
Scottish Community Diet Project, 2004, Breakfast Clubs. More of a head start,
www.dietproject.org.uk
TAFE NSW, 2010, Fresh Tastes @ School, www.tafeplus.com
Welsh Assembly Government, 2005, Free Breakfast Initiative, www.wales.gov.uk
15. ACTIVITIES AT BREAKFAST
Activity Village, 2010, http://www.activityvillage.co.uk
Breakfast And Brunch.Com, 2010, World Breakfast,
www.breakfastandbrunch.com/countryhome.php
Change 4 Life Program, Department of Health (UK), 2009, Breakfast 4 Life: Local supporter’s
toolkit, www.nhs.uk/change4life
ContinYou (UK), 2009, Breakfast Club Plus: Extra Time, www.continyou.org.uk
Curran A, Ballard A, Joyce B, Awabakal and Hunter Health, 2003, Tiddalick’s Toothy Tale:
Presenter’s kit, Newcastle, NSW.
DLTK’s Craft for Kids (US), 2010, www.dltk-kids.com
Home Grown Cereals Authority (UK), 2005, Breakfast Lesson Ideas, www.hgca.com/breakfast
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (USA), 2010, Child Nutrition
Outreach Program, Food for Thought: A hunger curriculum of learning and community service,
www.meals4kids.org/food4thought.html
Mr Breakfast, 2010, Holiday Breakfasts, http://www.mrbreakfast.com
New Policy Institute (UK), 2002, Improving Breakfast Clubs: Lessons from the best, www.npi.org.uk
New Policy Institute (UK) & Kellogg’s UK, 2000, Breakfast Clubs: A how to guide, www.npi.org.uk
Our Community, 2010, Calendar of Events, www.ourcommmunity.com.au/calendar
US Department of Education, School & Community Nutrition, 2002, Breakfast Marketing, New York.
Welsh Assembly Government, 2005, Free Breakfast Initiative, www.wales.gov.uk
76
16. BEHAVIOUR
Family Education (USA), 2008, General Manners for Kids & Parents,
www.familyeducation.com/manners/respect
New Policy Institute (UK), 2002, Improving Breakfast Clubs: Lessons from the best,
www.npi.org.uk
Scottish Community Diet Project (UK), 2004, Breakfast Clubs. More of a head start,
www.dietproject.org.uk
Warilla North Community Centre, 2007, Student Code of Conduct, NSW.
17. MONITORING & EVALUATION
Charities Evaluation Services, 2010, Monitoring and Evaluation, www.ces-vol.org.uk
ContinYou (UK), 2009, Breakfast Club Plus: Evaluation, www.continyou.org.uk
Miller, W & Yeatman, H, 2008, Who is Being Served? A critical view of national school breakfast
program outcomes utilising empowerment evaluation. Proceedings of the International Conference
of the Australasian Evaluation Society, Perth, 10-12 September 2008.
New Policy Institute (UK), 2002, Improving Breakfast Clubs: Lessons from the best, www.npi.org.uk
NSW Department of Health, 1997, Does your school need to provide breakfast?: Guidelines to
needs assessment, implementation and evaluation.
Scottish Community Diet Project, 2004, Breakfast Clubs. More of a head start,
www.dietproject.org.uk
77 Breakfast Every Day
Appendices
78
APPENDIX 1
TEN GREAT REASONS TO EAT A HEALTHY BREAKFAST EVERY DAY
Recent media coverage of healthy weight and increasing incidence of chronic illness such as diabetes and
cardiovascular disease highlights more than ever the need for a healthy breakfast. If you tend to place a low
priority on the first meal of the day, here are ten reasons why you should re-assess your busy schedule, and put
breakfast at the top of your priorities for you and your children.
1. Metabolism - So you think a cup of coffee is all
you need to wake up and get going in the morning?
Wrong! You also need to eat something to ‘wake up’
your metabolism after what could be up to twelve
hours of not eating – you need to break the fast.
Leaving long periods between eating encourages
your body to lapse into ‘rationing’ mode, slowing down
metabolism and causing you to burn less energy.
It also encourages the body to store energy as fat
- because that burns slower. Studies show eating
breakfast can raise metabolism by as much as 10%.
2 Concentration - Studies repeatedly demonstrate
that eating breakfast improves concentration and
learning ability; teachers are often the first to notice
when a child in their class has not had breakfast.
3. Memory - In the same way that good breakfast
choices help boost concentration, a healthy breakfast
can also help with memory function. Eating breakfast
raises blood glucose levels, thereby ensuring brain
cells are as active as possible.
4. Energy - Eating slow release carbohydrate foods
at breakfast will help keep energy levels balanced
and maintained throughout the day. Porridge and
wholegrain toast are great examples of slow release
carbohydrates that combat mid-morning fatigue and
falling energy levels.
5. Nutrients - Eating a healthy breakfast of, for
example, whole grain cereal, berries and low-fat milk,
provides a good proportion of essential daily nutrients
and dietary fibre. It can be very difficult to catch up
on nutrients and fibre later in the day if breakfast is
missed.
6. Fibre - Constipation is linked to colorectal cancer.
Not only do the right breakfast foods provide essential
vitamins and minerals, high fibre breakfast cereal
products help avoid constipation, and decrease
the risk of colorectal cancer. A high fibre diet takes
twelve hours to go through the digestive system as
compared to a low fibre diet that can take over thirty
six hours. Studies show the more stool produced, the
lower the risk of colon cancer.
7. Hunger - Slow release carbohydrates also induce
a feeling of ‘fullness’ for longer, helping to control
cravings for sugary or high fat foods later in the day.
8. Mood and Stress levels – Skipping breakfast
can make you grouchy, anxious, and irritable – eat
breakfast if not for your sake, for the sake of those
around you! Topping up breakfast with nuts and
seeds can help increase serotonin levels - also
known as the ‘happy hormone’! Wholegrain bread
and porridge are also thought to be useful serotonin
stimulators.
9. Immunity - Fresh fruit and fortified cereals contain
lots of vitamins and minerals essential for a healthy
immune system. Breakfast time is a perfect way to
help defend against dreaded winter colds and flu. 10. Banana muffins - The best reason of all!
Ingredients
2 cups self-raising flour
¼ tsp cinnamon
¾ to 1 cup milk
2 Tbsp oil
2 eggs
2 bananas, mashed
½ cup sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 180 ºC
Grease muffin tin with a little oil
Sift flour into bowl
Stir in sugar, cinnamon and bananas
Stir in eggs, milk and oil until all ingredients are wet
Place spoonfuls of mixture into muffin tin
Bake for 15-20 minutes,
Makes 12 muffins, best served warm.
79 Breakfast Every Day
80
Supported by the NSW Area Assistance Scheme and Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing
Healthy Cities Illawarra
prepared by:
www.nutritionaustralia.org
www.kidspot.com.au
www.raisingchildren.net.au
References:
Fuel to learn and energy to excel
Breakfast Every Day
Porridge oats are cheap, quick to prepare, and contain lots of vitamins,
minerals and fibre.
Whole fruit is preferable to fruit juice.
ü
ü
Use wholemeal, whole grain or high fibre bread for toast.
Adding fruit (fresh, frozen,tinned or dried) to cereals is a great way to
get your child to eat less sugary cereals.
Serve low-fat milk.
When choosing cereal, avoid the high sugar/high salt ‘children’s
cereal’ and instead go for one containing wholegrains with less salt
and sugar (see www.choice.com.au for help with cereal selection).
ü
ü
ü
ü
Tips for a Healthy Breakfast
ABN: 83 964 176 052
Ground Floor, Victoria Square
Cnr Victoria & Belmore Streets
(PO BOX 1492)
WOLLONGONG NSW 2500
Ph: 4226 5000 Fax: 4226 5339
Email: [email protected]
Internet: http://www.healthyillawarra.org.au
Healthy Cities Illawarra
Children who miss breakfast are tired, restless and
irritable by late morning. They are easily distracted and
run out of energy quickly.
Children who eat breakfast have better levels of
concentration and energy to get through the day. They
get along better in the classroom, and are generally
happier in school.
B
reakfast every day….but especially school
days. For school children, breakfast is the most
important meal of the day. Teachers know it, and
30 years of research confirms it; eating breakfast helps
children do their best at school.
Fuel to learn and energy to excel
Breakfast Every Day
APPENDIX 2
W
81 Breakfast Every Day
Breakfast should include a serving of fruit or vegetables, a serve of protein
food such as dairy products and eggs, and a serving of bread or cereal. Try
not to rely on the same food prepared the same way every day however.
“But I Don’t Like Breakfast!”
1⁄2 cup chopped fruit (eg. banana, berries, mango, or peaches)
1 cup low-fat milk
1⁄2 cup yogurt
1 teapoon honey
Ingredients
whiz all ingredients in blender and serve.
Fruit Smoothie
If they insist they’re not hungry, win them over with a fruit smoothie – kids
love them, and at a pinch they can be made the night before and stored in the
fridge.
Children often don’t feel like eating as soon as they wake up, so try to
ensure they wake up early enough to ‘come around’ to feeling hungry. Some
children need to get used to the routine of eating breakfast so start slowly
offering 1⁄2 piece of toast and a small yoghurt, or 1⁄2 a banana and a glass of
milk. Try not to apply too much pressure on them to ‘hurry up’. If necessary,
pack them a cheese or banana sandwich to take with them and eat on the
way to school, when they have more of an appetite.
“But I’m Not Hungry!”
e all know the benefits of a healthy breakfast, but getting children to
eat it at a time parents are usually at their most rushed themselves
is a challenge in itself. How can we get kids to eat if they say
they’re ‘not hungry’, ‘too tired’, ‘don’t like breakfast food’, or if we’re all running
late? Many children starting school are tired in the morning, and have trouble
adapting to the new routine of school every week day, all day. Breakfast is
easy to skip in the rush to get them off to school, but barriers to breakfast can
be easily overcome with a little bit of planning.
• ‘Tiger toast’ – stripes of cheese
on vegemite toast
• Grilled cheese on toast;
• Grate apple or pear into
pancake mix for added fibre and
flavour;
• Mix mashed banana into
porridge and top with a little
honey;
• Toast with a thin spread of jam
or honey with sliced banana;
ut breakfast doesn’t have to be ‘breakfast’ food - the foods eaten
at breakfast can be the same ones that are eaten any other time
of the day. So if your child really doesn’t like breakfast foods, offer
leftovers from last night’s dinner, pasta, asian noodles or a toasted sandwich.
Remember, if all else fails, anything for breakfast is better than nothing at all.
B
• Scrambled egg with toast
• Boiled egg and vegemite soldiers
• Muffin with slice of cheese and
tomato;
• Baked beans on toast;
• Yoghurt topped with muesli and
chopped fruit;
• Raisin bread or fruit loaf (plain
or topped with ricotta cheese),
and chopped strawberries or
banana;
To avoid breakfast boredom consider:
APPENDIX 2
82
7726_HCI-Bowen-A2.indd 1
fuel to learn & energy to excel
Eat breakfast every day..
Dean Bowen - International King of the Groms 2006
“I couldn’t surf without it”
15/5/08 1:17:53 PM
Photo courtesy of Steve Robertson
eggs on toast
for breakfast..
Scrambled
APPENDIX 3
fuel to learn & energy to excel
Photo courtesy of Steve Robertson
Sally Fitzgibbons - 2 x Junior World Champion 2007
“I couldn’t surf without it”
Eat breakfast every day..
& yoghurt
for breakfast..
Cereal with fruit
APPENDIX 3
83 Breakfast Every Day
84
Emotional, self esteem
benefit
Hygiene/ grooming
Crime
prevention
Improved school
attendance
Better health and nutrition
Skill development for
volunteers
Breakfast
Club
Benefits of
Safety
Improved concentration, performance,
behaviour in classroom
Social integration for
children with special needs
Social skills development
Monitoring student
welfare
Staff/ Student rapport
Communication time
APPENDIX 4
APPENDIX 5
BREAKFAST AT SCHOOL!
Eating breakfast helps children do their best at school.
Children who eat breakfast have better levels of concentration and
energy to get through the day. They get along better in the
classroom, and are generally happier in school.
We are considering starting a school breakfast club and would like to
hear from you. Please return the form below as soon as you can to
assist us in this decision, and to help us plan the program should we
decide to go ahead.

PRINCIPAL/P&C ASSOCIATION/TEACHER
________________________________________________________
BREAKFAST AT SCHOOL!
□ Yes, I would like the school to run a breakfast club.
□ No, I do not wish the school to run a breakfast club.
□ Do you think your child might want to attend the breakfast club?
□ Yes, regularly
□ Yes, sometimes
□ I am not sure
□ No, it is unlikely
□ I would like to be involved in the breakfast club (please provide
contact details).
Name:_____________________________________________
Child’s Class:________________________________________
85 Breakfast Every Day
APPENDIX 6
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

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
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


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
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 

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 
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 
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 


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 


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 
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 

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86
APPENDIX 6
 

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

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
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

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

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
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
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
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
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

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

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
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

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
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

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
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
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
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

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
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87 Breakfast Every Day
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APPENDIX 7








 

 

 

 

 



 


 


 

 




 

 

 


 



 

 

 

 





 

 

 

 

 

 
88
APPENDIX 8
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










 


 

 

 


 

 

 


 

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
89 Breakfast Every Day
APPENDIX 9
NSW WORKING WITH CHILDREN CHECK - VOLUNTEER DECLARATION
22/01/11 4:44 PM
VOLUNTEER/STUDENT DECLARATION
An easier way? Complete this form online at check.kids.nsw.gov.au
Volunteers who mentor disadvantaged children or who provide intimate personal care to disabled children
should use the Applicant Declaration and Consent rather than the Volunteer/Student Declaration.
Personal Details:
Name:
Family name:
First name:
Other given name(s):
Previous names/aliases:
Family name:
First name:
Other given name(s):
Family name:
First name:
Other given name(s):
Residential address:
Address Line 1:
Address Line 2:
Suburb/Town:
State:
Postcode:
Country:
Contact:
Phone:
Mobile:
Email:
Date of birth:
Gender:
Place of birth:
Suburb/Town:
State:
Country:
Identifying document:
If you used one of these documents to verify your identity, please fill in these details
Licence Type:
Issuing Agency:
Driver's License
Firearms License
Australian Capital Territory
New South Wales
Northern Territory
Queensland
South Australia
Tasmania
Victoria
Western Australia
Australian Army
Commonwealth of Australia
Defence Force Academy
Australian Navy
Australian RAAF
Issued by a country other
than Australia
Other
Private
Government
UN Refugee
Licence number:
Passport Type:
file:///Users/elleholder-keeping/Documents/Breakfast%20Program…H%20CHILDREN%20CHECK%20-%20VOLUNTEER%20DECLARATION.webarchive
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APPENDIX 9
NSW WORKING WITH CHILDREN CHECK - VOLUNTEER DECLARATION
22/01/11 4:44 PM
Issuing Country:
Passport number:
NSW WORKING WITH CHILDREN CHECK - VOLUNTEER DECLARATION
22/01/11 4:44 PM
Position details:
Title of child-related position:
Name of organisation you are volunteering for:
Address of this organisation (if known):
I am a parent or guardian of a participating child (y/n):
I am a volunteer or student on placement (y/n):
It is an offence for a prohibited person to apply for, attempt to obtain, undertake or remain in child-related employment, or to sign
this declaration. A prohibited person is a person who is convicted of the following (whether in NSW or elsewhere):
murder of a child
serious sex offence, including carnal knowledge
kidnapping (unless the offender is or has been the
child's parent or carer)
child-related personal violence offence (an offence
committed by an adult involving intentionally wounding
or causing grievous bodily harm to a child)
offences connected with child prostitution
indecency offences punishable by imprisonment of 12
months or more
attempt, conspiracy or incitement to commit the above
offences.
possession, distribution or publication of child
pornography; or
A prohibited person includes a Registrable person under the Child Protection (Offenders Registration) Act 2000.
Details of these offences can be found online at Working With Children Employer Guidelines Fact sheet 1. A conviction includes a
finding that the charge for an offence is proven, or that a person is guilty of an offence, even though the court does not proceed
to a conviction.
Declaration:
I have read and understood the information above about prohibited persons. I am aware that it is an offence to make a
false statement on this form.
I declare that I am not a prohibited person under the Commission for Children and Young People Act 1998.
I consent to the Commission for Children and Young People checking my relevant criminal records, to verify these
statements. I understand that this information may be referred to the Commission for Children and Young People and/or to
NSW Police for law enforcement purposes and for monitoring and auditing compliance with the procedures and standards
for the Working With Children Check in accordance with Section 36 (1)(f) of the Commission for Children and Young People
Act 1998.
Signature:
Date:
Employer to Complete:
I have sighted photo identification for this person
Signature:
Date:
Name:
Position:
What should I do next? Once you have completed your details, you will need to sign the printed form and provide the
signed form to your employer/volunteer organisation. You may also wish to retain a copy for your records.
file:///Users/elleholder-keeping/Documents/Breakfast%20Program…H%20CHILDREN%20CHECK%20-%20VOLUNTEER%20DECLARATION.webarchive
91 Breakfast Every Day
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APPENDIX 10
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




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 
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


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



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

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


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



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


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


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
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



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

c/o Healthy Cities Illawarra T 4226 5000

Email: [email protected]

www.healthyillawarra.org.au
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
             
              
             

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              
            
            
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               

                 
                
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 

            
               
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
            



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

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



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
93 Breakfast Every Day
APPENDIX 12
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
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
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
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
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
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

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APPENDIX 12

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





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
 

 


 
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

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

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








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

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





95 Breakfast Every Day
APPENDIX 12
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












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
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













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APPENDIX 12
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

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




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

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














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



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
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97 Breakfast Every Day
APPENDIX 12
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

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




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




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






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






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98
APPENDIX 12








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







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

            

           

              

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





             



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99 Breakfast Every Day
APPENDIX 12



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


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



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



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
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


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

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
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
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

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




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

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100
APPENDIX 12
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


 

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 



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 
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 
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
 







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 

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 
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 
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 
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

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 
  
  
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



















101 Breakfast Every Day
APPENDIX 13





            




          
































102
APPENDIX 14

















 
 
 
 
 
 
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



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



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

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


103 Breakfast Every Day
APPENDIX 15

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
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





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





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
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




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





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
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


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APPENDIX 16


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



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

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

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

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


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

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

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
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
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



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

105 Breakfast Every Day
APPENDIX 17
BREAKFAST LESSON TWO: GRADES 3-5
Making Sure We Eat Breakfast Each Morning
This lesson has four components: a DISCUSSION of reasons for eating breakfast; a short ACTIVITY in which children calculate the amount of time between
going to bed and getting up in the morning; a DISCUSSION of reasons for
missing breakfast; and a group ACTIVITY identifying possible strategies for
overcoming barriers to eating breakfast. Additional ACTIVITIES are provided.
The GOALS
of this lesson are to:
• help children understand
DISCUSSION
the reasons for eating
breakfast (HEALTH, SCIENCE)
• develop an awareness
among children of personal
breakfast eating habits
(HEALTH, MATH)
• identify reasons for missing
breakfast and ways to
include it in a daily routine
(PROBLEM SOLVING)
Begin the discussion by having students share what they did to get ready for
school this morning. To do this, have students volunteer to act out or draw a
picture of themselves getting ready for school. As a class, analyze the acting or
pictures to determine if breakfast is a part of the morning routine presented and
decide whether it is important to include breakfast as part of a morning routine.
Lead into a discussion of eating breakfast and reasons why breakfast is important. Use the following questions to guide the discussion:
Why is breakfast important?
Why do you eat breakfast?
How do you feel when you eat breakfast?
As students answer these questions, create a web of reasons for eating breakfast
on the board. In the center of your web write “reasons for eating breakfast.”
ACTIVITY
Highlight the importance of breakfast by demonstrating how much time lapses
between going to bed and eating breakfast. Create a timeline starting with
“waking up” and ending with “waking up the next morning.” Have children figure
out how many hours there are between going to bed and getting up in the morning. Now have them calculate how many hours they usually have between
breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner. Compare the two.
DISCUSSION
How much time is there between when you eat at night and when you get up
in the morning?
How much time is there between when you eat lunch and when you eat
dinner?
Is there more or less time between eating dinner and getting up the next
morning or between eating lunch and eating dinner?
If you wake up and skip breakfast, how much time is there until you eat
lunch?
How do you think you will feel if you skip breakfast?
39
Child Nutrition Outreach Program, Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary
Education, USA, Food for Thought: A Hunger Curriculum of Learning and Community Service;
www.meals4kids.org/food4thought.html
106
APPENDIX 17
What are some reasons we might not eat in the morning?
• not hungry yet
• no time
• rather sleep
• don’t like what’s in the house to eat
NOTES
Breakfast is a meal that “breaks the fast” between when we eat at night and
when we get up in the morning. It gives us energy to start the day.
Problem solve in small groups or as a class using the following activity:
ACTIVITY
Break students into small groups. Assign each group one of the reasons mentioned for
missing breakfast. Have students create a web of possible solutions (similar to the
web used in the discussion of reasons to eat breakfast). Have each group share their
solutions and discuss.*
*If your school has a School Breakfast Program, identify School Breakfast as a
possible solution if the children don’t mention it. For children who don’t have time to
eat at home, aren’t hungry when they get up, or don’t have adequate food at home,
School Breakfast is a wonderful option. Your school food service director can help
you get information about the program to the children.
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
Choose one or more of the following activities to reinforce the lesson and problemsolving activity:
Invite the food service director or cafeteria manager to talk about the importance of
eating breakfast and your school’s breakfast program. Discuss ways to advertise the
program to other children in the school. Have each child design an advertisement for
the program. Arrange with the food service director to post the advertisements around
the school and/or publish them in your town’s newspaper. (Be sure to provide adequate “prep” for this activity. Look at some advertisements ahead of time and
discuss reasons to advertise, quality of letters and colors used in ads, etc. Provide a
variety of materials for students to use if possible.)
Post a large sheet of newsprint with the following questions and response options:
Did you eat breakfast today? (provide “yes” “no” response)
Where did you eat? (provide “at home,” “in the car,” “on the bus,” “at school” as
responses)
40
Provide enough room for students to respond to each question with a tally mark.
As students arrive for school, have them place a tally mark next to the appropriate
answer to each question. Tally the results and share them with the class. Using
survey results from the first day, set a class goal for eating breakfast. Survey the
children each day for a week or two. See how close you come to reaching your class
goal.
107 Breakfast Every Day
APPENDIX 17
Have students write a cartoon strip, rap, or other musical piece about the
importance of eating breakfast each day.
NOTES
Have children keep a breakfast journal for a week in which they record what
they ate, where they ate, and how they felt. At the end of each journal entry,
have them decide whether they ate a nutritious breakfast and why it was
nutritious. At the end of the week have them draw conclusions about their
breakfast eating habits and record any changes they plan to make as a result
of keeping a journal.
Provide students with different scenarios such as “in the car,” “at a fast food
restaurant,” “on the bus,” “at a convenience store,” and “at home.” Have
them decide what nutritious foods they could eat in each situation. Share
results and discuss.
Work in small groups to develop and present a skit about the importance of
eating breakfast every day. If possible, perform the skit for younger classes
in the school.
Publish a class book about breakfast that includes poems, stories, recipes,
pictures, etc.
Have students write a haiku poem about breakfast. A haiku is an unrhymed
Japanese poem. It has three lines that contain a total of five, seven, and five
syllables respectively. Example:
Breakfast every day
Energy to play and learn
Breakfast, it’s for me
Have students design their own cereal box. Your imagination is the limit, but
possible suggestions include: drawing a picture of themselves and creating a
cereal name and slogan for the front; creating a breakfast game or puzzles
for the back; listing reasons to eat breakfast for one side panel; and listing
strategies for eating breakfast every day for the other panel.
Research foods eaten for breakfast in different countries or cultures and
report to the class. Make a collective collage on a display board. Take it
with the “traveling skit” (see above) or display it in the library, lobby, or other
prominent place in the school.
41
108
APPENDIX 18

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
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 

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 
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 
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 
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 
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 
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 
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

109 Breakfast Every Day
APPENDIX 19





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



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
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 



 
 
 

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 


 

 


 


 

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
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



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




110
APPENDIX 19


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




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





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

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 
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




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
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









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







111 Breakfast Every Day
APPENDIX 19


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
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







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






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