Thanks to grant, 75 Michigan schools will bring more breakfasts into classrooms

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June 27— Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and the United Dairy Industry of Michigan (UDIM) announced recently that 75 schools in Michigan have been awarded grants totaling $250,000 to provide healthy breakfasts in more classrooms.

The Building Healthy Communities through Breakfast: First Fuel Breakfast Challenge Grants will help to ensure that more than 35,000 children in the state will receive a healthier start to their school day.

The grants were awarded statewide to 40 elementary schools, 12 middle schools, 13 high schools, two K-8 schools, seven K-12 schools and one 6-12 school. The selected schools will customize the method of breakfast service to meet individual school needs such as: grab-and-go breakfast, breakfast after first period, breakfast vending machines, delivering breakfast to the classroom or breakfast in the bus loop.

The grants will also help Michigan schools reach the Michigan Department of Education's First Fuel Breakfast Challenge goal of raising breakfast participation rates to at least 60% of its school lunch participation rates. The grant applications were open to public, charter and nonprofit elementary, middle and high schools. The award amounts range from $900 to $9,000 to help schools pay for equipment such as coolers, breakfast carts and kiosks and marketing of each new breakfast program.