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Financial Benefits of an Effective Breakfast Program
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Child Nutrition Outreach Program aims to increase participation in the School Breakfast Program statewide. Last year, only 37% of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals ate breakfast at school. This means that food service directors missed the opportunity to collect reimbursement and income for the 63% of students who, for various reasons, did not participate in the program. School Business officers interested in increasing food service department revenue should strongly consider the financial benefits gained from improving breakfast participation.
By maximizing participation in the breakfast program, food service directors are able to receive the greatest amount of federal reimbursement and student payments. The additional revenue generated by breakfast can offset the fixed costs of kitchen equipment that is used for both breakfast and lunch.
As breakfast participation increases, so does the efficiency of cafeteria staff. Staff are required to prepare more meals per labor hour, thereby decreasing the per breakfast labor cost. Considering the fact that labor costs are only second to food in terms of food service expenditure, this is a significant benefit of high breakfast participation.
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Child Nutrition Outreach Program at Project Bread works with schools throughout the state to implement strategies for increasing breakfast participation. For more information, please call 617-723-5000 or email cnop@projectbread.org.
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