BALTIMORE (May 3, 2010)—George Washington Carver Elementary School in St. Mary's County was named the third place winner of the 2009-2010 Statewide School Breakfast Contest.
The contest, titled Ready, Set, Go!, was organized by the Maryland State Department of Education's (MSDE) School and Community Nutrition Programs Branch and was based on the School Nutrition Association's national contest. Schools throughout the state participated in this contest which was sponsored by Action for Healthy Kids, the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association, Magic Moment Designs, Ltd., Maryland Hunger Solutions, and MSDE.
Participating schools planned events during National School Breakfast Week and did various promotional activities. Participation in the contest is intended to get students excited about eating breakfast at school and, consequently, increase their participation in school breakfast.
More than 25 million breakfasts were served in Maryland schools during the 2008-2009 school year. Although that sounds like a large number of breakfasts, there were many students who did not participate in the School Breakfast Program last year. Eating breakfast at school has been shown to enhance academic performance, reduce absenteeism, and improve student behavior.
Winning school entries included increased program participation, binders with photos, stories, student artwork, and examples of how nutrition was integrated into existing science, math, and art curriculum.
Winning schools will receive prizes such as cash awards from Action for Healthy Kids to support School Wellness policies, student give-aways, a "Got Milk" breakfast cart, funds for nutrition education materials, and assemblies with nutrition and physical education activities.
For more information on School Breakfast or the Statewide School Breakfast Contest, visit www.eatsmartmaryland.org.