Groups of high school students are being welcomed to the table to create marketing plans to get more high schoolers to eat breakfast at school.
In collaboration with the Texas Hunger Initiative, Dallas ISD Career and Technical Education Department and NAF, the Dallas ISD Food and Child Nutrition Services (FCNS) is hosting the Breakfast Battle competition. Not enough high schoolers eating breakfast is a national issue, so FCNS Executive Director Michael Rosenberger said it makes sense to involve high school students in addressing the issue.
“We are thrilled to host the first ever Breakfast Battle aimed at increasing the number of students who eat breakfast daily,” Rosenberger said. “Numerous studies show that students who start their day with a healthy breakfast perform better in many ways – including academically and in extracurricular activities – than students who do not. We strongly encourage all Dallas ISD students to eat breakfast every day.”
The 80 students from six high schools participating in the Breakfast Battle attended an orientation on Oct. 4. They learned that the criteria to win includes doubling breakfast participation at their school compared to the previous year, and the creation of a marketing strategy and implementation plan. The winning team will get $3,000 for their school, second place will get $2,000, and third place will get $1,000.
Wendy, a student at the School of Business and Management, was part of a team that brought a video to show at the orientation detailing what menu items students want to see on the breakfast menu.
“I’m excited to bring ideas to the table and become involved with the actions that will take place to boost breakfast participation,” Wendy said. “Plus, this will give me some real-world experience in developing a marketing plan.”
Each team will present their final marketing results on April 30.
