April 19—As part of a pilot breakfast in the classroom program at New Haven Public Schools the number of kids eating breakfast shot up by 75%.
The pilot program took place at Wexler/Grant School, which serves 378 kids. The school, which is in the first year of a turnaround effort designed to boost failing test scores and improve the school climate, is now home to the experiment in childhood nutrition. On March 5, as kids began their annual high-stakes standardized tests, they tried out a new way of fueling up for the day. They grabbed a morning meal not in the school cafeteria, as was their routine, but in the classroom. In doing so, they followed the latest thinking in school meals, which concerns not just what kids eat but where.
Studies show when kids are offered meals in the classroom, “they’re more likely to eat it,” said Sarah Maver, school wellness dietitian for New Haven Public Schools.