KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- Thanks to the hard work of Chef Rick Atallah, the school was awarded a check for $2,500.
Members of the Bishop Ward staff attended the Nutrition Leadership Forum on Friday, October 3 where the award was announced.
The connection between eating a healthy breakfast and better academic achievement is well documented. To promote higher rates of breakfast consumption among students across the state of Kansas, the Dairy Council challenged all schools to increase their breakfast participation by at least eight percent.
Bishop Ward High School exceeded the goal increasing their student participation by 57.9 percent.
“Kids normally do not like to eat breakfast,” commented Chef Atallah, “however, by providing students with appealing breakfast options while maintaining the state nutrition guidelines, and using the most effective tool of simply being friendly during those early morning hours, we were able to succeed in increasing breakfast participation.”
Improving student nutrition has been a focused effort at Bishop Ward since 2009 with the removal of soda and snack food vending machines. Students were surveyed regarding health and eating habits and the goal was to increase the numbers of students that eat a healthy lunch on campus.
A major turning point came with a $53,000 grant award from the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City. This grant allowed Bishop Ward to leverage alumni and community support and renovate the cafeteria and kitchen. The improved infrastructure has allowed Chef Atallah to prepare and serve healthy, fresh food every day in an efficient way for students.
The recent increase in breakfast participation demonstrates Bishop Ward’s ongoing commitment to students health and well-being.
