ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 28, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- What do astronauts eat for breakfast? Well, you can bet they get the same nutrients and energy from their breakfasts that 7.3 million students get from the National School Breakfast Program each day. This year, school children will "Launch Their Day with School Breakfast" as National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) lifts off March 5-9, 2001.
"This year's NSBW promises some exciting menu choices centered around a space theme. Planet Breakfast, Double Moon Depot and Comet Corner menus will offer nutritious, appetizing and fun foods for the students to eat," according to Marilyn Hurt, president of the American School Food Service Association (ASFSA). "National School Breakfast Week provides the perfect opportunity for schools to demonstrate to students and their parents just how important breakfast is and to show the direct connection between eating a healthy breakfast and improving academic performance."
ASFSA launched NSBW in 1989 to raise awareness about the availability of breakfast at school and to draw attention to the link between eating a good breakfast and cognitive growth. Teachers have reported that their students are more alert and perform better in class when they eat breakfast.
Schools across the nation are taking the space theme a step further by collaborating NSBW's efforts with science teachers and with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). At Harriet Tubman Elementary School in Washington, D.C., students will participate in a program designed to explore the similarities between what astronauts eat in space and what students eat in their schools. A representative from the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. will explain how astronauts eat in space, the packaging of their space food and the importance of eating their nutritious breakfasts.
School meal programs are regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture and must meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs). These guidelines require that school lunches and breakfasts provide one-third and one-fourth of the RDA, respectively, for calories, protein, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium. They must also be low in fat.
For more information on NSBW and school meals, go to the ASFSA Web site at www.asfsa.org.
ASFSA is a national, non-profit professional organization representing more than 56,000 members who provide high-quality, low-cost meals to students across the country. Founded in 1946, ASFSA is the only association devoted exclusively to protecting and enhancing children's health and well-being through school meals and sound nutrition education.
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CONTACT: American School Food Service Association
Dana Clerkin
(800) 877-8822